The index opened up 45 points at 6,564, following on from a month in which it shed some 6.6%.

The June performance means the index dropped 0.7% in the first half of 2015 as a whole.

Much of last month’s fall has taken place since the start of this week: the blue chip index fell 3.5% between Friday’s close and Tuesday 30 June as Greece called a referendum on creditors’ bailout demands.

But Athens’ failure to meet the 30 June deadline for a €1.6bn IMF payment overnight – a move which puts it in ‘arrears’ if not marking an official default – failed to dent the index further this morning.

Greece missed the payment overnight after failing to secure a last-ditch bailout extension ahead of Sunday’s referendum. The latest set of Greek proposals are due to be discussed by eurozone finance ministers later today.

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For UK investors, last month’s FTSE drop looks like a case of deja vu. It represented the worst performance since May 2012, when the index fell 7.2% on concerns over Greece’s ability to meet its debts and stay in the eurozone.

Part of the FTSE’s poor first half can be attributed to a different factor. Miners and energy stocks have dragged the index down as falling commodity prices and a slowdown in China take their toll.

This trend is underlined by the fact that the more domestic-focused FTSE 250 remains up 9% year-to-date, despite falling almost 4% last month.

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