LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630: Today saw troubled insurer Aviva move into the top spot on the Footsie following reports this weekend that it may sell or close 15 of its 58 divisions. Meanwhile there were reports that some bankers accused of manipulating the LIBOR market could face extradition to the US. On the macroeconomic front, today saw the release of rather weak manufacturing survey results on a global scale, but particularly in the United States. That led economists at Barclays this afternoon to say that, "overall, similar to our previous message, the latest decline in global manufacturing confidence is consistent with continued weakness in the global manufacturing sector. While official data for global industrial production worldwide have still been holding up, business confidence data signal some growing risk of a mild recession for the global industrial sector." FTSE 100 closes up 69 at 5,641
1500: The Footsie is up 36 points at 5,609, having pared earlier gains after a poor start on Wall Street. The ISMs US manufacturing PMI fell from 53.5 per cent to 49.7 per cent in June, indicating contraction in the manufacturing sector for the first time since July 2009, when the PMI registered 49.2 per cent. Consensus estimates compiled by MarketWatch had pencilled in a reading of 52.3 per cent.
1326: Invensys is again getting quite a bit of attention on rumours that China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock may make an offer. As an aside, UBS has today cut its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 1,375 from 1,475 before; it may be worth remembering the considerable correlation seen between that benchmark and our own in the past. Chancellor Osborne´s speech on banks is slated for 16:30 BST.
1316: Troubled insurer Aviva has moved into the top spot on the Footsie following reports this weekend that it may sell or close 15 of its 58 divisions. Also worth pointing out, according to The Sunday Times the insurer has fired dozens of senior managers. No less relevant are reports that some bankers accused of manipulating the LIBOR market could face extradition to the United States. That ahead of the ISM manufacturing report due out Stateside this afternoon. FTSE 100 up 43 to 5,615.
1107: The Footsie is trading 27 points higher at 5,599 with Barclays now leading the risers after an earlier fall. Investec analyst Ian Gordon urged investors this morning to 'back Bob' in a research note, advising people to take full advantage of the recent sell-off. The broker reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock today, telling clients to 'expect Barclays's share underperformance to reverse'. Petrofac is gaining after Goldman Sachs raised its target price on the stock and kept a buy rating. Leading the FTSE 250 higher is Soco International after it entered into a 'conditional' agreement with Lizeroux Oil and Gas to acquire the 20 per cent minority interest in SOCO Vietnam that the group does not already own.
0932: The UK purchaing managers´ index for the month of June hase come in at 48.6 (Consensus: 46.5), versus the previous month´s reading of 45.9.
0844: London shares are moving slightly higher in early trading, with energy stocks such as BP, Petrofac and BG Group in the vanguard, on the back of a snap back in energy quotes on Friday. However, there is market chatter that TNK-BP shareholder AAR has blocked a potential partnership with Gazprom in Nordstream. On the downside, RBS is now the worst performer on the top share index, after news of the dismissal of ten of its traders, linked to the LIBOR fixing scandal. There has also been some negative news-flow out around RBS over the weekend. Barclays is off after the resignation of its Chairman Marcus Agius. Also worth noting, reports that Glencore's CEO is to hold a 'showdown' meeting this week with Qatar's state investment fund in a bid to save the Xstrata deal, according to the Sunday Times. UK Home prices stayed flat in June versus the previous month, figures from Hometrack have shown. Acting as a backdrop, there is a fair bit of commentary this morning regarding the need for European authorities to flesh out the details of last week´s summit. Some observers also seem worried that Spain may "low-ball" its estimate of how much additional capital its banks need. FTSE 100 up 12 to 5,583.