London midday: FTSE drops sharply to two-week low at quarter-end

After a brief stint in positive territory, UK stocks dropped sharply into the red by Tuesday lunchtime as concerns about the Eurozone outweighed upbeat data closer to home.London's FTSE 100, which rose initially to a high of 6,910.07, had sunk over 1% to 6,819.82 by midday. The index has not closed below this level since 16 March when it settled at 6,804.08."With the quarter-end upon us it is not surprising to see a general air of indecision envelop markets like a late-winter fog," said analyst Chris Beauchamp from IG.Not even further stimulus measures in China could lift stocks in the heavyweight mining sector as risk appetite took a hit. Beijing eased curbs on lending and tax policies in an effort to stop a downturn which has dampened economic growth.Uncertainty in Greece was also weighing on sentiment after leaders failed to agree on a package of reforms with lenders. According to the European Council president Donald Tusk, a deal is not likely before Easter.Economic data comes in mixedDomestic figures mostly impressed on Tuesday morning with annual UK gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter being unexpectedly revised up to 3% from the initial estimate of 2.7%. The latest reading of GDP comes after the UK budget and before the May general elections which are too tight to call, pressuring financial markets.Meanwhile, Lloyds Bank's UK business confidence barometer for March jumped by eight points to a six-month high of 53%.In the Eurozone, consumer price deflation eased to -0.1% in March from -0.3% the month before, though the core rate of inflation fell from 0.7% to 0.6%, below analysts' forecasts.The unemployment rate for the single-currency region also declined from 11.4% to 11.3% but missed the 11.2% estimate.However, not all data from the continent was weak, with German unemployment dropping to an all-time low of 6.5% in March, while retail data from the nation also smashed expectations.Kingfisher impressesDIY retailer Kingfisher impressed investors with plans to close 60 stores, as new chief executive Véronique Laury announced full year results and set out her plans for a "very different" company. The company announced a £200m cash return for the coming financial year as it revealed adjusted annual profits fell 7.5% to £675m last year.After a slow start, mining stocks were registering losses, including Anglo American, Randgold Resources and Antofagasta. Antofagasta on Tuesday quashed rumours that it was looking to merge with copper producing peer Teck Resources.British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco were lower on concerns that the Lorrillard-Reynolds merger will fall apart. Reynolds shareholder BAT had agreed to invest $4.7bn and was hoping to keep a 42% stake in the enlarged business, while Imperial was set to spend $7.1bn on a number of assets that the two US groups were selling.Meggitt was out of favour after Exane BNP Paribas initiated coverage of the stock with an 'underperform' rating, saying it sees downside at current prices despite ongoing bid speculation.Outsourcing services group Mitie fell after warning that it expects full-year profits to be pushed slightly lower than forecast by margin pressures in the homecare and social housing businesses.Market MoverstechMARK 3,155.64 -0.79%FTSE 100 6,819.82 -1.04%FTSE 250 17,139.95 -0.40%FTSE 100 - RisersKingfisher (KGF) 376.00p +3.07%Babcock International Group (BAB) 989.50p +2.75%Tesco (TSCO) 244.45p +1.45%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 545.50p +1.39%St James's Place (STJ) 947.00p +1.39%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,965.00p +1.29%Persimmon (PSN) 1,668.00p +1.27%Experian (EXPN) 1,133.00p +1.07%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 531.00p +0.95%Carnival (CCL) 3,301.00p +0.82%FTSE 100 - FallersMeggitt (MGGT) 540.00p -4.09%Anglo American (AAL) 1,027.50p -3.07%Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 410.40p -2.73%Aviva (AV.) 535.00p -2.64%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,990.00p -2.54%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,512.00p -2.30%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,481.50p -2.02%Glencore (GLEN) 286.05p -1.99%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 461.20p -1.87%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,741.00p -1.75%FTSE 250 - RisersSIG (SHI) 204.10p +3.39%Greencore Group (GNC) 322.20p +3.17%Serco Group (SRP) 135.50p +2.65%Pace (PIC) 345.10p +2.40%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 61.35p +2.25%Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 819.50p +2.05%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 485.70p +1.76%CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,727.00p +1.59%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,277.00p +1.51%Senior (SNR) 323.30p +1.44%FTSE 250 - FallersMitie Group (MTO) 267.10p -8.65%Vedanta Resources (VED) 501.50p -5.20%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,303.00p -4.68%Telecom Plus (TEP) 886.50p -3.85%Premier Oil (PMO) 133.20p -3.13%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 284.80p -3.06%Indivior (INDV) 189.40p -2.92%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 135.60p -2.73%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 959.00p -2.49%Betfair Group (BET) 2,229.00p -2.45%