London midday: Greek crisis continues to dampen sentiment

- IMF tells Greece to stick to austerity- FOMC expresses concerns over euro crisis- Yields rise at Spanish bond auction, againGreek uncertainties, gloomy comments from the US Federal Reserve and rising bond yields in Spain knocked another one per cent off the value of the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as the debt crisis in Europe continues to cloud the outlook for the global economy.News that Greek politicians have failed to form a coalition (sending the country back to the polls) has been weighing on equity markets over the last few days, as growing support for left-wing Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras threatens to push the country out of the Eurozone - Tsipras has maintained its hardline stance against the austerity measures agreed as part of the bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF).IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has insisted that Greece complies with the agreements it made to receive the bailout package, while warning that its exit could be an extremely costly process that the IMF needs to be prepared to face. Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that Greece was facing further funding pressures after reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) has stopped funding four of the country's banks as they are under-capitalised. This comes as the Greek public has been frantically withdrawing millions of euros from banks as a potential exit from the single currency could see a return to the Drachma which would be considerably devalued.Last night, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest policy-setting meeting, showing that members were concerned over the threats from the heightened tension in European debt markets. "Participants identified several downside risks to the projected pace of economic expansion, including the fiscal and financial strains in the euro area and the possibility of an abrupt fiscal consolidation in the United States," the minutes said.In other news, Spanish bond yields continue to rise further above the 6% mark on fears of contagion from Greece - the borrowing rate on a 10-year note stood 3.8 basis points up on the day at 6.33%. It was confirmed this morning that the country is in recession again, according to final GDP estimates for the first quarter. The country issued three- and four-year bonds at an auction this morning, which saw good demand but elevated borrowing rates. "How long Spain can continue to pay such high interest is yet to be seen," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.FTSE 100: Risk-off as miners and financials fall Mining and financial stocks were providing a drag on the Footsie today, as investors continue to flee from 'risker' assets amidst the global economic uncertainty. Providing further downward pressure on the resources sector was US broker Jefferies after having slashed its target prices for mining stocks under its coverage by an average 10% after recent underperformance.Diversified mining group Vedanta Resources was a heavy faller as full-year revenue came in slightly below forecasts. Sector peer Antofagasta also dipped into the red despite seeing group turnover and EBITDA jump 38.9% and 35.4%, respectively, in the first quarter. The group did however reveal that copper production fell 12.9% quarter-on-quarter. ??Insurance group Aviva fell after saying that operating profit for the first quarter of the year was marginally lower year-on-year. Elsewhere in the financial sector, banking peers Barclays, RBS and Lloyds were also coming under some selling pressure.?Energy supplier National Grid edged higher after increasing profits and the dividend in the 2011/12 fiscal year. However, revenues eased and capex guidance for the 2012/13 fiscal year was revised higher. ??Intertek, the quality and safety testing firm, rose after saying strong organic growth in the first quarter has been complemented by a big boost in revenues from the acquisition of Moody International. ??Interdealer broker ICAP was performing well after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock from sell to neutral and raised its target price from 310p to 330p. ?FTSE 250: TalkTalk surges, Kesa drops The final results from telecoms group TalkTalk pleased the market this morning as shares jumped by 15% after the firm hit its 20% EBITDA margin target significantly ahead of schedule. Revenues slipped 4% during the year to the end of March but earnings surged. ??Kesa Electricals fell steeply after saying that trading conditions in the final quarter of its fiscal year were "weak" and "volatile". The electrical retailer said that continuing group revenue in the period between January 9th and April 30th fell by 5.9% on a like-for-like basis, mainly due to a 30% decline in its Vision division (TVs, DVD players, etc.) following the digital switchover last year. FTSE 100 - RisersCarnival (CCL) 2,057.00p +1.38%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,033.00p +1.27%BAE Systems (BA.) 275.10p +1.14%ICAP (IAP) 340.00p +1.04%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,451.00p +0.83%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,509.00p +0.73%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,663.00p +0.50%Compass Group (CPG) 630.00p +0.48%National Grid (NG.) 668.50p +0.45%United Utilities Group (UU.) 626.50p +0.32%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 180.95p -4.28%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 146.70p -3.93%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.02p -3.89%Man Group (EMG) 78.75p -3.85%Xstrata (XTA) 949.50p -3.68%Aviva (AV.) 270.70p -3.63%Glencore International (GLEN) 350.80p -3.40%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 27.72p -3.31%Vedanta Resources (VED) 994.00p -3.12%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 690.00p -3.02%FTSE 250 - RisersTalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 154.80p +16.65%Cookson Group (CKSN) 692.00p +7.54%Restaurant Group (RTN) 293.00p +5.78%Premier Oil (PMO) 347.00p +5.41%Marston's (MARS) 99.05p +4.93%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 323.60p +4.45%Amlin (AML) 331.80p +4.34%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 168.60p +4.01%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 601.50p +3.71%Invensys (ISYS) 211.90p +3.57%FTSE 250 - FallersKesa Electricals (KESA) 49.22p -9.02%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 204.70p -4.57%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 118.70p -3.10%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 252.00p -2.82%International Personal Finance (IPF) 219.90p -2.79%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 715.00p -2.65%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 203.90p -2.63%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 14.71p -2.58%Lonmin (LMI) 773.50p -2.58%Rank Group (RNK) 122.00p -2.40%BC