Market overview: Cable drops to seven-month low

1630:Close Merlin Entertainments led gains on the top flight index a day after its latest financials, followed close behind by Shire and GlaxoSmithKline which benefitted from upgrades out of Morgan Stanley. IAG got a boost from positive coverage out of Nomura. Miners were the weak link in the chain, dragged lower by falling copper prices. Meggitt did worst, ahead of expected announcement that it would be excluded from the Footsie starting 21 December. FX was in focus as cable sank below the 1.50 mark with conviction, closing at 1.4895 after the release of a weaker than expected constructions sector PMI. A stronger than expected ADP jobs report Stateside and somewhat hawkish Fed helped to undermine sterling. FTSE 100 up 25.28 points to 6,420.93.

1518: Cable is near seven-month lows, down 0.72% at 1.4967 following today's US ADP report.

1315: The US private sector created 217,000 jobs in November, according to a widely-followed survey. That was the better than the previous month's reading of 196,000, according to ADP and Moody's Analytics.

1315: BHP Billiton’s decision to increase copper production in fiscal year 2016 and lower cost guidance are symptomatic of some of the factors that are ailing the wider copper mining industry, as firms add tonnes in a bid to lower their unit costs, adding to the existing oversupply, Goldman Sachs said.

1255: Three-month copper futures are down by 1.1% to $4,581.50 per metric tonne on the LME.

1234: Moneysupermarket.com is at the bottom of the pile on second-tier index on news that a 30-35m share book building process - representing between a stake of between 5.5%-6.4% had been launched overnight, which analysts point out is about half the founder's remaining stake.

1051: Commenting on Zoopla's fiscal year results Peel Hunt says they were "solid", but adds "Outlook seems confident, but short on hard numbers. Still no firm synergies for the new group ...."

1050: Nomura has issued a bullish note on the European airlines sector, bumping its target price on IAG to 800p from 750p in the process.

1049: Despite today’s gains in shares, Credit Suisse is out with a rather subdued note on global stocks. The Swiss broker is now at its most cautious since 2008. The bank reduced its weightings in equities to a small ‘overweight’ and cut its mid-2016 target for the S&P 500 to 2,150 from 2,000 as it introduced a 2016 year-end target of 2,150. CS said it was more constructive on equities outside the US.

1048: Spain's risk premium versus Germany has fallen below 1%.

1038: Euro/dollar is on the back-foot following today’s euro area inflation print. It was last trading at 0.37% lower at 1.0587.

1037: Front month Brent crude futures are down by 1.21% at $43.89 per barrel in ICE trading. That follows remarks attributed to Iran that it does not need permission from OPEC to raise its oil output.

1015: Commenting on today's euro area CPI print Pantheon Macroeconomics says: "A dovish report, which will add weight to the ECB doves’ argument for more easing tomorrow, and also increases the risk of a more aggressive policy response," but adds, "The fall in core inflation is very unlikely to mark the start of a downward trend, and we continue to see upside risks in the next six-to-12 months."

1000: Eurozone consumer prices advanced at a 0.1% year-on-year clip in November, the same as in the month before (consensus: 0.2%). Core inflation was even weaker, rising at a 0.9% pace, well below the 1.1% which economists had pencilled in.

0930: Markit’s UK construction purchasing managers’ index for November has printed at 55.3, a seven-month low, down from the 58.8 seen in October (consensus: 58.5).

0906: London-listed blue-chip pharmaceutical groups Shire, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline have started the day in a chipper mood following price target upgrades out of Morgan Stanley for the latter two. Acting as a backdrop, Wall Street clocked in with strong gains overnight despite rather weakfish manufacturing sector data. The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s composite index closed up by 2.33% at 3,536.91 today.