London pre-open: Flat start expected ahead of Eurogroup meeting on Greece

Uncertainty surrounding pivotal talks about Greece was likely to keep investors cautious on Friday, with no change expected for UK stocks expected early on.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will broadly flat on Thursday's close of 6,888.90.The Eurogroup is set to meet in Brussels to discuss Greece's proposal for a loan extension, albeit on different terms on the existing bailout. Germany has already rejected the request."Greece's current bailout programme is set to expire on 28 February and it is now close to a hard deadline because any extension or modification to the programme would need time to be approved by some of the national parliaments," said analysts at Danske Bank.UK retail sales and surveys on Eurozone and US manufacturing are also due out on Friday.Stocks to watchInsurance giant Standard Life said the recent acquisition of Ignis helped it to increase assets under administration by 38% in 2014. The company reported a 19% increase in operating profit before tax from continuing operations to £604m, while the total dividend was lifted 7.8% to 17.03p per share.3i Infrastructure has bought a 45% stake in Oiltanking Terneuzen in the Netherlands and Oiltanking Ghent in Belgium for €111m. The companies provide storage and related services for refined oil products, chemicals and biofuels. Thanks to accelerated momentum in the last three months of the year, Essentra exceeded expectations for 2014. Like-for-like revenue at the plastic, fibre and foam products group were up 9% and adjusted earning per share grew 19%.