The FTSE 100 traded down 0.8% at lunchtime in London as the Greece debacle hit sentiment and weak mining stocks dragged the index lower.
“The market is coming under pressure, but there is still a chance they will reach a last minute agreement on Greece, as they have done in the past,” said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments.
European leaders are to resume talks on Saturday in a last minute effort to reach a deal and secure Greece’s futures in the Euro.
Arm Holdings (LON:ARM) was the biggest faller as it fell in tandem with Apple “Profit taking following yesterday’s nice move higher in concert with Apple is pulling Arm shares back towards the 1110p level this morning,” said Brenda Kelly of London Capital Group.
Tesco (LON:TSCO) was top of the pile following results that beat expectations. Although sales continued to slide, the drop was less than expected.