The FTSE 100 Index pulled back from four-month highs today as it slipped lower after eight sessions in a row of gains.

London's top-flight ended 40.8 points down at 6811.6 points, while in Europe there were sharper falls for Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40.

Markets were still weighing the implications of the Greek election result which saw anti-austerity party Syriza come to power.

Investors had initially reacted calmly following the weekend poll but the latest session saw renewed concerns about the fall-out, which has seen shares in Greece's banks tumble.

Figures showing the UK economy grew by just 0.5% in the fourth quarter - missing City expectations of 0.6% growth - also did little to help the mood, despite the overall performance for 2014 as a whole of 2.6% being the best since 2007.

Sentiment was further depressed later in the session by disappointing manufacturing data from the US.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also hit by poorly-received results from Microsoft as it fell more than 300 points.

The disappointing economic figures from the US helped sterling climb a cent against the US dollar, climbing to nearly 1.52.

But the UK's own slowing growth saw it slip from near seven-year highs against the euro, dropping a cent to under 1.34.

In London stocks, airlines were among the minority achieving lift-off.

Luton-based easyJet was one of the biggest risers in the FTSE 100 after it cheered investors with another upgrade to its results guidance.

The budget carrier said that first-half seasonal losses would reduce this year as the group has added more seats to successful routes and attracted record business passengers in the three months to the end of December.

Shares were 2% higher, up 33p to 1789p, in a session when British Airways owner International Airlines Group also climbed on expectations that it has done enough to land Aer Lingus in a deal worth £1 billion.

The board of the Dublin-based carrier is willing to accept IAG's proposal, although progress still hinges on the support of major shareholders Ryanair and the Irish government. IAG shares rose 12p to 561p.

Centrica was the leading riser in the FTSE 100 Index as a broker upgrade from Credit Suisse helped shares in the British Gas owner improve 4%, or 11.3p, to 282.7p.

On the fallers' board electricals retailer Dixons Carphone gave up some of its recent gains after it was the subject of a downgrade from Morgan Stanley. Shares were 10.5p lower at 419.4p, a drop of more than 2%.

Outside the top-flight, Carpetright rose 11.2p to 458p after a trading update showed signs of progress in its turnaround plan with like-for-like sales up 7.5% in the 13 weeks to January 24.

The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Centrica, up 11.3p to 282.7p, Randgold Resources up 145p to 5595p, International Airlines Group up 12p to 561p and SSE up 29p to 1545p.

The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were TUI down 38p to 1162p, Weir down 47p to 1640p, Intertek down 63p to 2268p and Rolls-Royce down 24p to 879p.