Market overview: Smith&Nephew and Travis Perkins lead losses

1630:Close Shares ended the session slightly lower led by losses in Smith&Nephew after the orthopaedics manufacturer announced that it would acquire it sole Colombian distributor. Travis Perkins lost ground after providing a cautious outlook for the UK housing market. RSA was taken down a notch by analysts at Bernstein, who lowered their view on the shares to market perform. Markit’s construction sector purchasing managers’ index for February rose to 60.1 from a reading of 59.1 in the month before. FTSE 100 down 51.51 points to 6,889.13.

1509: The rise in shares of Morrisons is the result of several down sessions.

1414: Morgan Stanley's survey of US cruise travel agents shows booking volumes were up in February, helped by cold weather, extended offers, more marketing, new ship launches and little negative media. As a result the broker has lifted its target price on Carnival to 3,100p.

1245: Barclays' analysts write that Tullow's expectation of a definitive ruling on the maritime dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast by the end of 2017 looks reasonable. To take note of as well, some market observers believe Tullow Oil is set to exit the Footsie at Wednesday's quarterly reshuffle. Somewhat paradoxically, stocks tend to get a fillip when they leave a benchmark.

1244: “We continue to see Intel’s threat to ARM in smartphone/tablets as limited to7% share by 2020,” writes broker Exane.

1215: The Ukrainian central bank has boosted its benchmark interest rate in a bid to staunch capital outflows and prop-up its currency, the hryvna. The main policy rate has been hiked to 30% from 19.5%.

1119: Strategists at Credit Suisse have moved to a 20% underweight position on Russian equities, from 50% underweight previously. Despite the host of risks facing the country – geopolitical, possible sanctions and from commodity prices – and the subjectiveness of any valuation, they now have a measure of confidence that the main concerns are now fully priced in. “Attempting to apply fundamental analysis and valuation is an indeterminate exercise in our estimation,” they admit. FTSE 100 up 9 to 6,949.12.

1118: To take note of, today marks the start of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) ahead of Thursday’s National People’s Congress (NPC). Beijing is expected to set a target for economic growth of about 7%, with analysts anticipating reforms to local government financing, taxation and pricing.

0930: The Markit/CIPS UK construction PMI rose to a four-month high of 60.1 in February from 59.1 in January, as it continues to rebound from the 17-month low reached in December. The consensus forecast was 59.0. “The latest survey highlights renewed vitality within the UK construction sector, as output growth picked up further from the soft patch seen at the end of 2014,” said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit.

0855: The FTSE 100 has opened higher following a strong finish on Wall Street. In a positive note for a markets, a report showed German retail sales rose more than expected. Sales rose 5.3% in January, compared to a 4.8% increase a month earlier and forecast for a 3% gain. In corporate news, Barclays is in focus this morning after saying it will set aside an additional £750m for the settlement of a currency-manipulation probe and reporting its full-year results.