London close: Losses trimmed by news from Greece

- Greek CDS auction finishes in line with expectations- Greece expects GDP to fall 4.5 per cent in 2012 and 0.5 per cent in 2013- Markets await Wednesday's BudgetThe FTSE 100 finished only slightly in the red after a positive start on Wall Street, which saw UK stocks trim losses in afternoon trade. Markets were looking ahead to Wednesday's Budget in the UK, while keeping an eye on Greece as the nation's outlook continues to improve, albeit gradually.The Greek CDS (credit default swap) auction finished this afternoon, with holders of $3.2bn in the contracts expected to receive around $2.5bn in compensation, according to reports. The auction valued Greek bonds at 21.5% of the nominal value. According to the Wall Street Journal, the market was expecting rates of 20-25% and so the results were broadly in line.Meanwhile, in its annual report on monetary policy, the Bank of Greece announced that gross domestic product (GDP) will contract by 4.5% in 2012 but this will slow to a 0.5% fall in 2013. This follows the 6.9% decrease in GDP in 2011 and the cumulative 13.2% decline in the four years 2008-11. It also expects total employment to fall by 3% this year and the average annual jobless rate to exceed 19%.The central bank said that the targets of the new fiscal consolidation programme can be attained but only if it is consistently executed. "The adoption with a strong majority of the loan agreement and the laws required for implementation by the Greek Parliament is the first positive development worthy of note. However, the success of the programme will hinge critically on its consistent implementation. Serious difficulties and problems obviously exist and need to be addressed. The bottom line, however, is that the goals are feasible and the programme can succeed," the statement said.Meanwhile, Vitor Gaspar, the Finance Minister of Portugal has quashed rumours that the nation will need another bailout, responding to Pimco head Mohamad El-Erian's comments last night. When asked by Der Spiegel if Portugal would need additional aid, El-Erian said: "yes, unfortunately that will be the case".Closer to home, the annual Budget is looming and never before has the build-up proved to be so contentious. The rumour mill is working overtime and demands are being made on Chancellor George Osborne from all sides. And in the current climate, this puts him in a perilous political position with little room for manoeuvre. BANKS FINISH MIXEDRoyal Bank of Scotland was the best performer of the day on the FTSE 100, finishing up 3.66%, while Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays all closed with losses.Insurance group Resolution was a high riser after JP Morgan Cazenove raised its target price from 251p to 267p. However, the broker did maintain its underweight position on the stock, while Oriel Securities reiterated its hold rating. In other broker ratings changes, Resolution's sector peer Standard Life was taken down a peg by Credit Suisse which cut its recommendation from neutral to underperform. Tullow Oil has been downgraded by at least two brokers today, UBS and HSBC. Bank of America-Merill Lynch has taken a swipe at National Grid, downgrading the utilities stock from buy to neutral. Telecoms giant Vodafone was on the up after the Sunday Times said that it could save up to £1bn in taxes if it succeeds in its takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide. CWW's shares were also advancing on the second-tier index. Construction giant CRH and real estate investment trust Land Securities were under the weather ahead of Wednesday's Budget. In aresearch note this morning, Jefferies said that potential stamp duty reforms could adversely affect commercial property. FTSE 250: MISYS RECEIVES 350P-A-SHARE OFFER FROM VISTA FTSE 250 financial software developer Misys has recommended to it shareholders a 350p-a-share cash offer by Magic Bidco Limited, an investment vehicle indirectly owned by Vista Funds. The offer equates to 22 times clean 2012 EV/NOPAT, according to Merchant Securities analyst Roger Phillips, which is an "amazing multiple given moribund organic performance over the last five years," he said. Shares finished 7.4% higher despite the firm also revealing that revenues are down 3% in the year-to-date, affected by the "cautious approach" adopted by customers and continuing challenging conditions in financial markets. The company also withdrew its medium-term revenue and margin targets. House builder Berkeley fell despite saying that it has delivered a robust trading performance in the four months to February 29th. The group said that demand for its residential property in 2012 has remained resilient, encouraging it to top up its land bank. Northern Russia-focused oil producer Exillon Energy was the worst performer after delaying its short-term output target due to "operational difficulties". Pre-tax loss totalled $7.1m in 2011, compared to a loss of $3.7m the year before, on revenue that surged from $84.8m to $203.0m. BCFTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 29.17p +3.66%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 283.50p +1.69%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,246.00p +1.38%Hammerson (HMSO) 430.00p +1.18%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,560.00p +1.08%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,614.50p +1.01%Old Mutual (OML) 164.60p +0.86%BT Group (BT.A) 217.40p +0.83%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,858.00p +0.81%Tesco (TSCO) 331.00p +0.76%FTSE 100 - FallersCroda International (CRDA) 2,171.00p -2.99%CRH (CRH) 1,379.00p -2.13%National Grid (NG.) 632.00p -1.86%IMI (IMI) 1,004.00p -1.76%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,567.00p -1.57%ICAP (IAP) 425.00p -1.51%Evraz (EVR) 404.40p -1.51%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,362.00p -1.46%United Utilities Group (UU.) 606.50p -1.38%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,459.00p -1.22%FTSE 250 - RisersEssar Energy (ESSR) 141.80p +13.53%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 281.00p +11.51%Misys (MSY) 354.00p +7.44%PayPoint (PAY) 638.00p +4.59%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 34.89p +4.18%Halfords Group (HFD) 307.50p +3.96%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.63p +3.71%Polar Cap Technology Trust (PCT) 404.00p +3.30%Henderson Group (HGG) 127.60p +2.65%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.9 +2.59%FTSE 250 - FallersExillon Energy (EXI) 205.00p -5.96%Computacenter (CCC) 436.00p -5.61%Spirent Communications (SPT) 154.90p -3.37%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 243.10p -3.15%Ocado Group (OCDO) 128.00p -2.88%International Personal Finance (IPF) 264.00p -2.73%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 496.50p -2.55%Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,737.00p -2.36%Senior (SNR) 194.30p -2.36%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,285.00p -2.36%