The London market struggled for direction today after better-than-expected high street sales figures provided a boost to the pound, amid uncertainty over the latest round of Greek debt talks.
Ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, German finance chief Wolfgang Schaeuble, said: "It's up to Greece alone to fulfil what has been agreed."
By the afternoon investor sentiment had lifted on the FTSE 100 Index, which rose 27.3 points to 6707.9, but only after testing new five-month lows for much of the session.
UK retail sales nudged up by 0.2 per cent in May, which was a marked slowdown on the 0.9 per cent hike seen in April, although a healthy underlying picture helped the pound reach a seven-month high against the US dollar, at 1.59 dollars. Sterling was flat against the euro, at 1.39.
A cut in the forecast for US economic growth by America's Federal Reserve also failed to help, even though this appeared to push back the timing of an interest rate hike in the world's biggest economy.
The subdued mood saw traders in London turn to mining stocks, helped also by a rise in gold prices and a weakened dollar.
Anglo American lifted 25.1p higher at 990.7p, Randgold Resources rose 119p to 4546p and silver miner Fresnillo climbed 15p to 727p.
Water firm Severn Trent and private equity firm 3i Group were the heaviest fallers on the top tier after the stocks went ex-dividend, meaning investors are no longer entitled to the latest pay-out.
Severn fell 61p to 2058p and 3i dropped 16.5p to 517p.
In corporate news, discount retailer Poundland was a notable faller in the FTSE 250, off by more than three per cent, or 11p to 300.1p as it warned of a tough start to the new financial year.
The group reported an 18.6 per cent surge in underlying pre-tax profits to £43.7 million for the year to the end of March, but trading figures for the most recent 11 weeks showed a marked slowdown in sales growth.
Electronic components specialist Premier Farnell was the top faller in the second tier - down 10.4p to 179.3p - after it said first half adjusted operating profit was expected to be marginally below a year earlier.
First quarter sales rose 5.4 per cent, but gross margins were down 1.2 percentage points compared with the previous quarter.
Elsewhere, model railway firm Hornby saw shares fall seven per cent or 7.1p to 92p despite posting its first profit in three years and raising £15m to complete the overhaul of the firm.
The Kent-based company, whose brands include Airfix, Scalextric and Corgi, said underlying pre-tax profit was £1.6m in the year to the end of March, compared with a £1.1 million loss the previous year.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Randgold Resources up 119p at 4546p, Anglo American up 25.1p at 990.7p, Johnston Matthey up 74p at 3120p and BHP Billiton up 31p at 1333p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were 3i Group down 16.5p at 517p, Severn Trent down 61p at 2058p, TUI down 14p at 1123p and Pearson down 14p at 1253p.
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