London midday: Risk appetite drops as Eurozone crisis drags on

- Eurozone in focus as general strikes hit periphery- BoE's King gives gloomy outlook for Q4 UK GDP- Resources firms provide a drag; AMEC jumpsWith general strikes taking place in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy today, concerns about the ongoing Eurozone crisis have reignited this morning, pushing stocks lower in London.Meanwhile, some mixed economic data closer to home and remarks from the head of the Bank of England have also done their bit to add to the selling pressure.Market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said: "Stock markets are flat this morning as Eurozone concerns continue to hit risk appetite. Strikes against austerity in the southern eurozone states are starting to gather large support, raising concerns about how much more the countries can take. "At the very least they are likely to put Mariano Rajoy [Spanish Prime Minister] off requesting a bailout until absolutely necessary, something the markets see as delaying the inevitable and potentially extending the debt crisis."Meanwhile, market chatter still abounds on the danger of the US 'fiscal cliff' as the country's politicians prepare for talks scheduled for Friday to come to an agreement on how to deal with the budget deficit. President Barack Obama's administration and Republican lawmakers must come to an agreement in order to avoid $607bn in spending cuts and tax increases that, if not changed, will take effect on January 1st. Claims for unemployment benefits in the UK increased by 10,100 in October, disappointing the consensus of analysts who were expected no change. This was the largest increase in over a year. Nevertheless, it was revealed today that the UK jobless rate declined to 7.8% in the third quarter, below the consensus estimate of a flat 7.9% reading.However, comments for Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King dampened the mood this morning after he said that gross domestic product (GDP) will fall sharply in the fourth quarter and the UK could even contract. He said that the "UK faces unappealing inflation/growth combination. Absent a further drop in the exchange rate, perhaps not reasonable to expect much faster growth."In other news, the London Bullion Market Association has predicted that the price of gold would rise around 7% from today's prices to $1,849 per troy ounce by September 2013. FTSE 100: Resources firms tank on risk aversionMining and oil stocks were the heaviest fallers on the Footsie by Wednesday lunchtime on concerns about the global economy: EVRAZ, ENRC and Shell are among the worst performers. The latter announced this morning that it has raised its stake in the North Sea Schiehallion field, at the same time as selling its interest in the Seal are in Canada.Even Tullow Oil, which said this morning it is on track to hit its full-year production targets, was subdued, trading broadly flat by midday.Supermarket group Sainsbury was falling despite reporting a better-than-expected underlying half-year profit before tax as it continued to outperform in a challenging market. Retail peer Marks & Spencer was also lower after going ex-dividend.Engineering consultancy AMEC gained after saying it was trading in line with expectations despite ongoing economic uncertainty. The firm said mining activity was slowing, but conventional oil and gas activity remained strong, particularly in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Defence group BAE Systems was down after saying that it has reached a settlement with the government of Trinidad and Tobago after a contract to provide offshore patrol vessels was cancelled two years ago. Telecoms group BT fell after saying that it has made an agreed offer to acquire Tikit Group, the information technology services provider to the legal and accountancy profession, for £64.2m. Energy supplier SSE was in demand after posting a 38% jump in profits in the first half as it immediately moved to offset a media storm over its hike in household bills last month. The firm pushed up its dividend 5% to 25.2p as earnings per share leapt 40.6% to 35.3p. FTSE 250: Talvivaara rebounds after leak stopped Nickel miner Talvivaara surged, recovering after recent falls, after saying that the leakage of the gypsum pond at the Sotkamo mine, which started two week ago, has now been stopped. However, the company said that it was re-assessing its fourth-quarter production target after a temporary plant shutdown. Inter-dealer broker ICAP dropped after headline pre-tax profit dropped 26% in the first half and revenue fell 14%. Bank recapitalisation and deleveraging, uncertainty over regulatory reform and even the London Olympics were cited by boss Michael Spencer as reasons for the decreases. Soft drink peers Britvic and AG Barr were higher after agreeing on a merger. Assuming the tie-up goes through, Britvic shareholders will end up controlling 63% of the combined company and AG Barr shareholders 37%. The new entity will be called Barr Britvic Soft Drinks. Shares in Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin got a boost after it reported a 43% quarter-on-quarter leap in basic earnings per share (EPS) in the three months ended September 30th. Online gaming firm bwin.party digital entertainment was higher after reiterating its view that it is "acting and has always acted in compliance with applicable laws" after its co-CEO was questioned by Belgian authorities on concerns that it was breaching the country's gambling legislation. FTSE 100 - RisersAmec (AMEC) 1,065.00p +3.10%Centrica (CNA) 317.00p +1.99%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,764.00p +1.50%ITV (ITV) 95.85p +1.32%ARM Holdings (ARM) 728.00p +1.11%Reed Elsevier (REL) 623.50p +0.89%Capita (CPI) 727.50p +0.76%Prudential (PRU) 872.00p +0.75%SSE (SSE) 1,392.00p +0.65%Serco Group (SRP) 548.00p +0.55%FTSE 100 - FallersEvraz (EVR) 222.80p -4.70%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 281.40p -2.83%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 340.00p -2.07%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,183.00p -1.95%Kingfisher (KGF) 283.90p -1.73%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,123.50p -1.69%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 379.00p -1.61%CRH (CRH) 1,122.00p -1.58%GKN (GKN) 204.50p -1.54%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,336.00p -1.51%FTSE 250 - RisersTalvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 98.00p +17.51%SIG (SHI) 106.20p +3.51%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,318.00p +3.37%Britvic (BVIC) 379.50p +3.04%Telecity Group (TCY) 846.00p +2.55%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,775.00p +2.55%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 717.45p +2.35%Fenner (FENR) 365.20p +2.10%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 440.60p +1.94%Bumi (BUMI) 271.50p +1.61%FTSE 250 - FallersICAP (IAP) 289.30p -6.65%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 209.20p -5.34%Home Retail Group (HOME) 110.00p -3.25%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 36.21p -3.10%Perform Group (PER) 398.50p -2.78%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 35.40p -2.59%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.01 -2.13%Kier Group (KIE) 1,106.00p -2.04%Diploma (DPLM) 445.10p -1.90%Dialight (DIA) 1,069.00p -1.84%BC