London open: UK stocks fall as Greek optimism fades, corporate earnings mixed

UK stocks declined on Thursday as newsflow from Greece prompted an element of caution on financial markets, as the FTSE 100 continued to retreat from a five-month high.London's blue chip index was down 0.4% at 6,836 early on, with updates from a number of blue chips receiving a mixed reaction from investors.Stocks have fallen for two straight sessions since the UK index settled at 6,871.80 on Tuesday, its highest close since early September 2014.The European Central Bank (ECB) said in a statement late on Wednesday that it will lift the waiver on using Greek government bonds as collateral for lending to its banks. It said the decision was "based on the fact that it is currently not possible to assume a successful conclusion of the [bailout] programme review".The comments came as the newly-elected Greek government seeks to ease the terms of its €240bn bailout with its creditors.Greek banks will still be able to access funding via the Enhance Liquidity Assistance (ELA) programme run by its central bank, though at a much higher cost."We interpret this decision by ECB's Governing Council to force Greek banks to access more expensive funding (via ELA) as a "nudge" to the Greek government to speed up negotiations with the EU and announce soon an agreement on a programme," said analysts at Barclays.On Thursday's agenda, investors will be awaiting a policy decision by the Bank of England at midday, along with Eurozone retail figures, UK car registrations, US jobless claims and US trade balance data.Corporate updates come in mixedBT was leading the risers after confirming reports it has settled on terms of its acquisition of EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange, saying it will be spending £12.5bn on the UK mobile network. The deal will be financed by new debt and a £1bn placing of its shares and will result in Deutsche Telekom and Orange taking 12% and 4% stakes in BT, respectively.After a year of accelerating investment in its drug pipeline, Astrazeneca's earnings per share fell more than expected in the fourth quarter to drag the full-year number short of the market's target, causing shares to drop.Catering company Compass was higher as it reported a good start to its new financial year, with organic revenue up more than expected in the first quarter.Smith & Nephew rose after seeing a 6% increase in annual revenue as weak results at its advanced wound management business were offset by a strong performance at its US hip and knee implants division.Vodafone dialed in a smaller-than-expected 0.4% decline in organic service revenues in the third quarter thanks to a steady recovery in Europe and a return to growth in the UK, though the stock was flat early on.Easyjet fell after saying that passenger numbers were flat at the budget airline in January, while planes were not as full as they were a year earlier. The carrier flew just over 4.02m customers last month, representing no change from January 2014.Electronics group Premier Farnell sank after warning that annual operating profits will be lower than last year's.Market MoverstechMARK 3,095.11 +0.39%FTSE 100 6,835.89 -0.35%FTSE 250 16,528.14 -0.26%FTSE 100 - RisersBT Group (BT.A) 438.90p +3.76%Compass Group (CPG) 1,172.00p +2.27%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,503.50p +1.86%GKN (GKN) 380.40p +1.41%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,184.00p +1.37%Severn Trent (SVT) 2,143.00p +1.32%ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,081.00p +1.12%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 976.00p +1.04%Shire Plc (SHP) 4,942.00p +0.84%Carnival (CCL) 2,945.00p +0.82%FTSE 100 - FallersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,758.00p -2.87%AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,567.00p -2.58%Glencore (GLEN) 260.85p -2.30%BG Group (BG.) 910.70p -2.29%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,494.00p -2.16%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,147.00p -2.05%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,206.00p -1.76%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,121.50p -1.65%Tullow Oil (TLW) 390.00p -1.49%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,084.00p -1.45%FTSE 250 - RisersRexam (REX) 475.60p +6.26%Croda International (CRDA) 2,679.00p +1.29%Inmarsat (ISAT) 874.50p +1.27%Rightmove (RMV) 2,425.00p +1.21%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 53.55p +1.13%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,424.00p +1.08%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 453.20p +1.03%Cineworld Group (CINE) 431.20p +1.03%Evraz (EVR) 172.90p +0.99%De La Rue (DLAR) 522.00p +0.97%FTSE 250 - FallersPremier Farnell (PFL) 150.40p -11.22%Afren (AFR) 10.10p -9.01%Ocado Group (OCDO) 415.10p -3.76%Premier Oil (PMO) 155.20p -3.66%Soco International (SIA) 287.70p -3.13%Rank Group (RNK) 180.00p -2.96%CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,528.00p -2.68%Victrex plc (VCT) 2,039.00p -2.53%Hunting (HTG) 445.30p -2.39%Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 134.70p -2.18%