London open: Stocks rise ahead of budget, but China and Greece a concern

London stocks bounced slightly on Wednesday after settling at their lowest in nearly six months, though gains were modest as investors focused on a sell-off in China overnight, the upcoming UK budget and news flow on Greece.The FTSE 100 was up 0.38% at 6,456.90 early on, after settling at 6,432.21 on Tuesday, its lowest since 16 January.Chinese stocks suffered another bout of panic selling on Wednesday with the Hang Seng down 7.5% and the Shanghai Composite dropping 5.9% despite measures by the government to stabilise markets.A fresh wave of China-listed companies announced trading halts before the open, taking the total to around 1,300 or 45% of the country's listed stocks."Yet another calamitous fall in the Chinese stock market is continuing to lay waste to the commodity sector, with gold, silver, copper and Brent crude all in line for another day of hefty losses," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. "The drag this causes on the FTSE's commodity stocks is obvious, so the UK index will be up against it if it wants to climb to some gains this Wednesday," he said.Chancellor George Osborne is expected to unveil £12bn in welfare cuts and changes to taxation in an "emergency" budget statement to the House of Commons, scheduled to start at 1100 BST.Measures to improve housebuilding could see construction stocks move, while investors of listed banks will be watching out for any potential movement on the controversial bank levy imposed in the wake of the global financial crisis. Retail stocks could also be boosted by a move to allow shops in England and Wales to be open for longer on Sundays by handing the responsibility to local towns and cities.Meanwhile, Eurozone leaders have warned Greece that a new bailout deal should be struck within the next five days or the country would face a banking collapse as well as a potential exit from the Eurozone.European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that although he was "strongly" against Grexit, there was a "Grexit scenario prepared in detail".Barclays jumps on CEO exitBarclays was a high riser after the departure of chief executive Antony Jenkins, with the bank saying that "a change in leadership is required" and the search for his successor was underway. Chairman John McFarlane will become executive chairman pending the appointment of a new CEO.Sector peers Standard Chartered and HSBC, however, were trading firmly lower following the sell-off on Chinese markets overnight.Mining stocks were also in the red, including Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton.??Wholesaler Booker inched lower after sales were underwhelming in the first quarter, with just 0.2% revenue growth for the first 12 weeks of the financial year, compared to 1% in the preceding quarter.Market MoverstechMARK 3,073.33 +0.23%FTSE 100 6,456.90 +0.38%FTSE 250 17,216.03 +0.02%FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 260.20p +3.19%Tesco (TSCO) 204.40p +1.87%SSE (SSE) 1,569.00p +1.82%BG Group (BG.) 1,049.00p +1.40%Unilever (ULVR) 2,751.00p +1.36%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,776.50p +1.34%Glencore (GLEN) 233.65p +1.32%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,784.00p +1.28%CRH (CRH) 1,752.00p +1.27%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 260.40p +1.17%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Chartered (STAN) 980.10p -1.86%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 383.20p -1.74%Prudential (PRU) 1,488.00p -1.62%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 550.20p -1.50%GKN (GKN) 313.30p -1.20%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,462.50p -1.20%Antofagasta (ANTO) 636.50p -0.93%Pearson (PSON) 1,201.00p -0.91%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,915.00p -0.65%Mondi (MNDI) 1,346.00p -0.59%FTSE 250 - RisersDaejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,035.00p +4.23%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 177.30p +3.02%Cairn Energy (CNE) 166.00p +2.47%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 530.50p +2.41%Clarkson (CKN) 2,832.00p +2.35%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 515.00p +2.28%Dignity (DTY) 2,188.00p +2.15%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 123.60p +2.06%PayPoint (PAY) 1,000.00p +2.04%Telecom Plus (TEP) 975.00p +1.93%FTSE 250 - FallersFidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 123.70p -9.24%UBM (UBM) 500.50p -3.38%Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 585.00p -2.90%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 97.70p -2.88%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 413.50p -2.32%Foxtons Group (FOXT) 216.70p -1.90%Evraz (EVR) 111.30p -1.85%Michael Page International (MPI) 520.00p -1.79%Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 311.80p -1.76%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 57.20p -1.72%