London open: Stocks flat early on despite mining weakness

- Volumes expected to stay low- ECB considering caps on bond spreads- Hopes for Chinese stimulus fadeUK stocks opened broadly flat on Monday morning on a quiet day for corporate news as markets remain fixed on developments in the Eurozone and newsflow from China."Volume remained low last week in the markets. August is notoriously lightly traded so this is no surprise. Also, as long as the Eurozone remains the key mover in the markets, unless Spain request a bailout in the coming weeks, we're likely to see volumes remain low until September 12th, when the German Constitutional Court rules on the legality of the ESM and Fiscal Pact," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Investors were focusing on reports concerning Greece which were doing the rounds this weekend. Firstly, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said that Greece would only leave the Eurozone if it "totally refused" to fulfil its reform targets. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ruled out a new aid plan for Greece, saying that "there are limits".On the other hand, the European Central Bank (ECB) is considering setting caps on bond spreads in southern Europe in order to help keep a lid on periphery country borrowing costs, according to a report in Der Spiegel. Meanwhile, Luis de Guindos, Spain's Finance Minister, said that his country would like the ECB to commit to unlimited intervention in second sovereign debt markets before it officially requests financial aid.In other news, Asian stocks slipped overnight as hopes for Chinese stimulus fade. Investors are concerned that policy-makers will refrain from further easing after a rebound in property prices during the month of July.Banks gain while miners slipBanking peers Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were in demand early on, though under-fire lender Standard Chartered bucked the trend following last week's $340m settlement with US authorities surrounding alleged dealings with Iran.However, miners were out of favour this morning with potential merger partners Xstrata and Glencore lower on the back of reports that the latter will not sweeten its offer bid for the former. Sector peers Eurasian Natural Resources Corp were also heavy fallers.Johnnie Walker whiskey maker Diageo was making gains on reports that it was closing in on a $3bn (£1.9bn) deal to acquire Jose Cuervo tequila. The firm already distributes the tequila brand globally.House-builder Bovis Homes rose after seeing profits come in ahead of forecasts in the first half, helping the firm to double its interim dividend.Insurance and reinsurance firm Amlin was also higher after revealing a first-half profit compared to a loss the same time a year earlier as catastrophe loss activity reduced sharply.FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 35.24p +2.98%Barclays (BARC) 196.00p +1.63%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 234.60p +1.30%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 228.00p +0.97%G4S (GFS) 270.40p +0.86%British Land Co (BLND) 544.50p +0.83%SABMiller (SAB) 2,817.00p +0.79%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,817.00p +0.79%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 367.20p +0.77%Diageo (DGE) 1,699.50p +0.77%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 361.60p -2.19%Xstrata (XTA) 925.00p -1.52%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,160.00p -1.28%CRH (CRH) 1,137.00p -1.22%Rexam (REX) 439.50p -1.15%Meggitt (MGGT) 408.00p -0.92%IMI (IMI) 920.50p -0.92%BAE Systems (BA.) 319.60p -0.87%Polymetal International (POLY) 926.00p -0.86%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 734.00p -0.81%FTSE 250 - RisersDomino Printing Sciences (DNO) 615.00p +3.36%Home Retail Group (HOME) 95.30p +2.53%Amlin (AML) 390.50p +2.47%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,022.00p +2.44%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 505.00p +2.43%Ted Baker (TED) 989.50p +1.91%PZ Cussons (PZC) 308.80p +1.81%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.6 +1.75%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 140.60p +1.74%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 439.00p +1.67%FTSE 250 - FallersIP Group (IPO) 117.00p -7.14%Chemring Group (CHG) 391.70p -5.55%Lonmin (LMI) 618.50p -3.28%Petropavlovsk (POG) 460.00p -2.85%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 72.00p -2.31%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 293.90p -2.23%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 286.60p -1.88%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 37.08p -1.83%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 555.50p -1.51%FirstGroup (FGP) 244.80p -1.45%BC