An opening rise on Wall Street has not prevented the UK market from edging into negative territory as more eurozone rumours emerge.
With signs that Greece and Italy are sorting out their political situations, a necessary precursor to any resolution to the debt crisis, investors are worrying about which eurozone country could be next in the firing line. Spain and France are often mentioned, and traders are now hearing talk that one of the major ratings agencies could be putting France on negative watch. There was also speculation of a Moody's downgrade for Austria.
So despite the Dow Jones Industrial average addeing nearly 90 points, the FTSE 100 is down 13.35 points at 5447.03, while French and German markets have come off their best levels.
This is not the first suggestion of a French downgrade, given its banks' exposure to Greek and Italian debt. But it shows that the current uncertainty among investors and volatility in the market can throw up all sorts of rumours. (Earlier there was talk of an emergency meeting of the European Central Bank, but that has come to nothing).
