- Greek exit speculation sinks stocks again- ECB stops funding to some Greek banks (report)- Eurozone crisis to limit UK GDP in 2012, says BoEAfter a temporary foray into positive territory, the FTSE 100 slipped late on to finish in the red for a third straight day as concerns over a potential Greek exit from the Eurozone began to escalate. With the main political parties in Greece unable to reach an agreement on the formation of a coalition government, the country is expected to go back to the polls in mid-June. Parliament is expected to be dissolved on Monday or Tuesday with a caretaker prime minister to be appointed. According to analysts, the new vote is being seen as a referendum on whether Greece will stay in the Eurozone as Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras - staunchly opposed to the terms of the bailout agreement - grows in popularity. Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said today that a Greek exit could lead to Italy or Spain requiring a bailout and "if this does happen, it is widely believed that there would not be enough cash in the bailout funds to successfully support such an event." He thinks that the European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to restart "some form of cheap lending" in an effort to ease the pressure. Mario Draghi, the President of the ECB, said in Frankfurt today that "the governing council's strong preference is that Greece will continue to stay in the euro area," he said.However, a report by Reuters late on said that, according to central bank sources, the ECB has ceased funding operations for some Greek banks. "It was unclear exactly how many banks were affected," the news agency said.Meanwhile, in domestic news, the Bank of England (BoE) has said it now expects the UK economy to grow by 0.8% this year, down from the earlier forecast of 1.2%, with the Eurozone crisis continuing to pose a threat. There is a "risk of a storm heading our way from the continent", according to BoE governor Mervyn King. The Bank also said that inflation would stay above the government's 2% target "for the next year of so".UK unemployment was down 45,000 to 2.63m in three months to March, pushing the unemployment rate down from 8.3% to 8.2%. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in April was also down 13,700 to 1.59m, the Office for National Statistics said. Forecasters had expected unemployment to remain steady and the claimant count to rise by 5,000. FTSE 100: Ex-div stocks, miners provide a drag Some heavyweight constituents were weighing on London's benchmark after trading without the right to their latest dividends. These ex-dividend stocks include Glencore, Morrison, Polymetal, Sainsbury and Whitbread. ??Miners were once again bearing the brunt of the risk-off attitude that has gripped markets over the last week as metals prices continue to fall. Xstrata, ENRC, Fresnillo and Kazakhmys were among the worst performers. Both Xstrata and Glencore were also being pressured lower by downgrades from UBS. Heading the other way were financial stocks, despite the gloomy Eurozone newsflow, with Aberdeen Asset Management, RBS, Man Group, Hargreaves Lansdown and Barclays performing well. Even interdealer broker ICAP, which fell early on, finished in the blue despite seeing full-year revenues and profits decline as ongoing economic fears dented trading volumes.Utilities group SSE rose after the group upped its full-year dividend by 6.8% following a 2% rise in adjusted pre-tax profits. Catering firm Compass edged higher after posting results that were slightly better than expected, driven by new business wins and a high rate of contract retention.FTSE 250: Lamprell plummets after trading update Oil and gas engineering firm Lamprell has seen its share price plunge after it warned that its performance is being severely hampered by the paucity of specialised jack-up rig components. The group said it will most likely make a small loss in the first half of the year, though a recovery is expected in the second half. ?Oil and gas group Ophir Energy was the high riser after announcing that its joint venture with BG Group found its fifth consecutive gas discovery in Tanzania with the Mzia-1 well in Block 1 showing "significant potential upside". ?Digital sports media company Perform Group also jumped after announcing that it is to acquire Swiss firm RunningBall, a real-time sports data provider, for between €101-120m. ??FTSE 100 - RisersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 255.90p +3.48%Croda International (CRDA) 2,182.00p +2.97%Man Group (EMG) 81.90p +2.57%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.87p +2.48%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 152.70p +1.87%Barclays (BARC) 189.05p +1.59%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 501.50p +1.56%IMI (IMI) 892.50p +1.31%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,026.00p +1.28%GKN (GKN) 192.40p +1.16%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,323.00p -4.13%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 299.80p -3.73%Sage Group (SGE) 253.30p -2.58%Aggreko (AGK) 2,121.00p -2.48%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 534.20p -2.46%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,020.00p -2.02%Glencore International (GLEN) 363.15p -1.89%Wolseley (WOS) 2,212.00p -1.73%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 272.50p -1.66%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,064.00p -1.65%FTSE 250 - RisersOphir Energy (OPHR) 580.00p +12.62%Perform Group (PER) 330.10p +7.00%RPC Group (RPC) 368.40p +4.96%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 123.30p +4.40%Persimmon (PSN) 570.00p +4.01%Ruspetro (RPO) 166.80p +3.60%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 73.00p +3.55%Logica (LOG) 68.70p +3.46%COLT Group SA (COLT) 110.90p +2.97%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 341.00p +2.90%FTSE 250 - FallersLamprell (LAM) 127.00p -56.92%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 259.30p -6.76%Essar Energy (ESSR) 117.80p -5.99%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 88.15p -5.97%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 309.80p -5.61%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 131.50p -5.26%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 377.60p -5.03%Provident Financial (PFG) 1,105.00p -4.74%SDL (SDL) 667.00p -4.58%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 216.60p -4.46%BC
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