Headline shares remained lower in midday trade with the Greek debt crisis, the Icelandic volcano and pre-election nerves conspiring to keep investors on the back foot, and with Wall Street looking nervous. At high noon, the FTSE100 was down 17.34 points at 5,393.77 with the FTSE250 off 68.9 points at 10,082.5 and the FTSE Smallcaps 21.92 points lower at 2,893. US stock futures moved cautiously higher, investors hoping the markets can recoup some of the previous session's losses. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up 8 points, S&P500 futures gained 1.4 points at 1,173.8 and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat at 1,969.5.

LONDON MARKETS

Trade in London was hit by weakness in travel and leisure stocks as the Icelandic volcano spread a fresh cloud of gloom. Coffee shop to hotel group Whitbread (LON:WTB) was the biggest casualty at midday, down 47p at 1,474p. Fellow hotelier InterContinental fell 18p at 1,102p. Holiday operators also felt the pinch, with Tui Travel Plc (LON:TT.) down 3.8p at 265.1p and Thomas Cook Group Plc (LON:TCG) 2.5p lower at 240.6p, while cruise operator Carnival (LON:CCL) lost 65p at 2,713p. British Airways (LON:BAY) lost a further 3.6p at 212.8p as a change in wind direction forced the closure of some UK airports on volcanic ash concerns. Midcap peer Easyjet (LON:EZJ) dived 6.6p at 458.7p in sympathy. In the retail sector, fashion house Next was the biggest blue chip casualty of the day, tumbling 60p at 2,197p, following an ultra-cautious outlook statement. Supermarket operators were firmly out of favour, with Morrisons sliding 9p at 280.3p, Tesco (LON:TSCO) off 4.95p at 430.25p and Sainsbury 2.9p lower at 334.9p, as the BRC reported shop price inflation edged up to 2% in April.

In the financial world, the banks put in a mixed performance, with Barclays (LON:BARC) taking the biggest hit, 4.35p weaker at 318.65p, and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) giving back 12p at 1,724p. Part-nationalised peers managed modest gains, with Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) up 0.7p at 51.45p and Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) 0.47p better at 61.71p. Fund managers again struggled to find support, with Man Group (LON:EMG) slipping 4.1p at 232p and Schroders (LON:SDR) 20p lower at 1,337p. Insurer Prudential (LON:PRU) fell 9p at 549.5p following news it has delayed the start of its rights offering as discussions…

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