Britain’s top share index fell on Thursday, set for its first decline in five sessions as waning optimism that a Greek debt deal could be reached soon took the index further away from a three-week high.

The FTSE 100 fell 13.56 points or 0.3 per cent to 6,831.24 by 0745 GMT.

The index hit 6,873.43 in the previous session, its highest level since June 4, but fell away after Greece said international lenders had rejected its latest proposals to avert default.

Optimism that a deal may be reached ahead of a meeting of the European leaders later on Thursday has largely dissipated, and Greece’s ruling Syriza party dismissed reform demands from the country’s international creditors as “blackmail’’.

While the FTSE was set to fall for the first session since last week, its outperformance against continental indexes continued, with euro zone shares deeper into negative territory.

“It’s fears as to what happens next with the Greek debt bailout talks that are spooking the market. Last night’s divergence between the two sides has clearly rocked sentiment,’’ said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct.

“Although the downside in London may be looking quite limited right now, the picture is far worse on the continent.’’

The FTSE’s top fallers traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payout, with United Utilities, Experian and Compass falling between 0.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent as they went ex-div.

Insurance firm Admiral Group dropped 2.6 per cent after a downgrade by Citi to “sell’’ from “neutral’’.

“We downgrade Admiral due to our concern that its dividend may increasingly come under pressure if the market remains competitive due to a lack of ‘self-help’ options and its inherently high payout ratio,’’ analysts at Citi said in a note.

Mid-cap shares outperformed, with the FTSE 250 flat. Top riser was Petrofac, up 3 per cent after an upgrade to “buy’’ from “neutral’’ by Nomura.

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