London open: Stocks flat, trading cautious after summit

It was a flat start for the Footsie as investors digested the details coming from last night's pivotal summit, in which leaders failed to make sweeping changes to treaties which govern all 27 members of the European Union.EU SUMMIT DISAPPOINTS Britain blocked an agreement that would apply to all members of the EU because it could not win concessions protecting the revenues of the City of London. David Cameron faced huge political pressure from his own Conservative Party not to agree treaty change without either a referendum or regaining powers for the UK Parliament. The question now is how will the Eurozone enforce the new budgetary rules that it so desperately needs outside of the official architecture of the European Union?Nevertheless, leaders from 23 out of the 27 member states reached an agreement on enhancing fiscal discipline and strengthening economic policy coordination in the Eurozone, accelerating the entry into force of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the commitment by EU member states to provide additional resources to the IMF of up to €200bn."Although an agreement has started, it is still unclear how these new fiscal rules will be enforced without the backing of all 27 member states," said trader Simon Furlong from Spreadex."So it seems we find ourselves in a very familiar situation regarding the EU, one of uncertainty. Everyone's attention today will be on developments coming out of Brussels as leaders battle on towards an agreement," he said.RISK OFF AFTER SUMMITTraders showed caution from the off, with the highest risers and fallers moving by just 1% or so. Risk was definitely off in the opening minutes, with financials mixed. Barclays and Lloyds headed higher, while Investec and HSBC were among the worst performers.British gas owner Centrica was lower after announcing that it is to spend $58m (£37m) buying gas assets in Canada as it continues to grow its North American business.African Barrick Gold fell after saying it will miss its annual production target of 700,000 ounces due to the power disruptions that have plagued output at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania throughout 2011. The firm assured today that it has now implemented an additional back-up power facility at the mine.Housebuilder Bellway said it has continued to deliver its strategy of increasing volumes, raising average selling prices through changes in mix and achieving margin growth during the period from 1 August to 30 November 2011.WorkPlace Systems, the AIM-listed workforce management software and consulting services firm, soared 75% after announcing it is to be acquired by Wasp Management Software (NewCo) for 25p per share, an 81.8% premium to yesterday's closing price.BCFTSE 100 - RisersVodafone Group (VOD) 175.00p +1.48%BG Group (BG.) 1,351.50p +1.46%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 296.40p +0.99%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 341.30p +0.95%Barclays (BARC) 181.95p +0.86%Reed Elsevier (REL) 518.00p +0.78%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 25.27p +0.76%SSE (SSE) 1,266.00p +0.72%United Utilities Group (UU.) 603.50p +0.67%Schroders (SDR) 1,351.00p +0.67%FTSE 100 - FallersAviva (AV.) 310.90p -1.05%IMI (IMI) 731.00p -0.81%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,132.00p -0.79%SABMiller (SAB) 2,183.50p -0.75%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,430.00p -0.69%Investec (INVP) 350.10p -0.68%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,354.00p -0.63%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 498.75p -0.59%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,923.00p -0.57%Experian (EXPN) 804.50p -0.56%FTSE 250 - RisersRPC Group (RPC) 359.90p +3.72%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 17.33p +3.28%Sports Direct International (SPD) 215.30p +3.01%Premier Foods (PFD) 5.90p +2.97%Laird (LRD) 143.50p +2.72%Northgate (NTG) 227.50p +2.71%easyJet (EZJ) 379.90p +2.32%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 385.20p +2.12%Rank Group (RNK) 150.00p +1.97%Renishaw (RSW) 958.50p +1.97%FTSE 250 - FallersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 495.80p -4.65%Perform Group (PER) 204.40p -2.67%JPMorgan Russian Securities (JRS) 497.00p -2.64%International Personal Finance (IPF) 211.40p -2.54%Supergroup (SGP) 504.00p -2.51%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 515.00p -2.18%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 38.88p -1.57%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 135.00p -1.53%BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 620.00p -1.27%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 187.90p -1.26%