LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks was broadly unchanged on Friday morning in anticipation of another quiet day on markets with Wall Street only open for half a session following Thanksgiving yesterday.

"European headline shares opened tentatively today as investors remained apprehensive towards risk-on assets in the face of an early finish to US equity trading today as well as a weekend packed with uncertainty regarding whether Greece will agree a lending agreement with its international lenders on Monday," said financial trader Shavaz Dhalla from Spreadex.

Dhalla said that investor’s patience is "nearing the end of its tether" with Monday's Eurogroup meeting on Greece being the third of its kind without an agreement. "A lack of agreement on Monday could prove ‘three strikes are out’ for investor’s tolerance regarding Greece’s negotiations with its international lenders," he said.

Meanwhile, trade was cautious this morning ahead of a key reading of business confidence in Germany. The Ifo Institute's business climate index is expected to fall from 100 in October to a near three-year low of 99.5 in November.

A summit of European Union leaders overnight to discuss a new seven-year budget was adjourned in the early hours of this morning and will kick off again at 11:00.

Speaking to reporters after the first day of meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "position remains too far apart". She said: “Probably there will be no result at the end of this summit. There may be some progress but it is probable that we will need to meet again at a second stage.”

ENRC rises early on

Mining giant ENRC rose after announcing that it is putting more on its Chairman's plate in order to let its Chief Executive Officer focus more on operations, "notably cost and operational efficiencies across the group's assets."

Sector peer Xstrata was also higher after saying that its nickel division has completed the construction of the first production line at the Koniambo project has been completed, with first metal anticipated in January.

It was announced yesterday afternoon that Xstrata's merger with commodities giant Glencore has won the blessing of the European Commission.

However, Anglo American, EVRAZ and Rio Tinto were bucking the trend, registering slight losses this morning.

FTSE 250 precious metals group Hochschild Mining was also lower this morning after saying that it now expects to get the construction permits for its Inmaculada and Crespo projects in the second half of 2013 following delays by the Peruvian government.

Eurasia Mining jumped after confirming the extension of its exploration licence at West Kytlim covering the Tylai-Kosvinsky Placer in the Urals Region of Russia.

Utilities giant Severn Trent was lower after voicing concerns with Ofwat's proposed water price controls in response to a statement by the regulator this week which welcomed "constructive" criticism.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Compass Group (CPG) 719.00p +0.70%
Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 343.00p +0.70%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 169.20p +0.65%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,233.50p +0.54%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 273.80p +0.48%
Carnival (CCL) 2,531.00p +0.40%
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 232.90p +0.39%
Kingfisher (KGF) 277.90p +0.32%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,492.00p +0.32%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,341.00p +0.30%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,687.50p -1.00%
Melrose (MRO) 213.00p -0.93%
Evraz (EVR) 235.20p -0.89%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,228.00p -0.89%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 290.10p -0.89%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,986.00p -0.80%
CRH (CRH) 1,116.00p -0.80%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,530.00p -0.76%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,274.00p -0.66%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,560.00p -0.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Menzies(John) (MNZS) 604.50p +1.77%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 520.00p +1.36%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 202.30p +1.25%
Regus (RGU) 97.15p +1.20%
Ruspetro (RPO) 85.00p +1.19%
Halma (HLMA) 434.60p +1.12%
Cobham (COB) 204.60p +1.04%
Britvic (BVIC) 404.05p +1.01%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 772.50p +0.98%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 270.20p +0.90%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 469.30p -3.69%
Savills (SVS) 424.00p -3.20%
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 97.20p -2.75%
RPC Group (RPC) 415.70p -2.67%
Lonmin (LMI) 293.00p -2.04%
Laird (LRD) 221.80p -1.81%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 456.90p -1.32%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 353.40p -1.31%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 76.00p -1.30%
Perform Group (PER) 400.00p -1.23%

BC

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