Market overview: Footsie lower as bond yields edge higher

1630:Close Stocks tracked Wall Street lower as markets reacted to slightly higher government bond yields. One analyst speaking on Bloomberg TV interpreted the move as profit-taking, as Treasury markets caught up with gains in the equity space. However, at 2.37% the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was rising on Monday oast the 2.35% level which some strategists had singled out on Friday as technical resistance. Financials did best at the sector level on the top flight index, but nevertheless ended well off their best levels of the day. FTSE 100 down 58.67 points to 6,295.11.

1528: HSBC downgraded TalkTalk to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and slashed the price target to 260p from 430p. It said the data breach that occurred in October will have lasting consequences on the telecommunications company. “While we do not believe that TalkTalk faces an existential risk from this hack, the implications for the company are potentially far-ranging. The company has issued two updates following the incident, and in light of those, we have reappraised our view of its near-term prospects.”

1415: HSBC sees the potential for a large move lower in the value of the pound against the US dollar. The broker´s head of technical analysis, Murray Gunn, recommends clients 'short' the currency pair with a spot reference of 1.5180, targetting an initial target of 1.40 and that they set a stop-loss order at 1.5550. "Much lower levels are possible," Gunn adds.

1330: Three-month copper futures dipped 0.3% to hit $4,979 per metric tonne on the LME.

1210: Rising bond yields and in particular the stabilisation in China should support cyclicals/value, JP Morgan´s Mislav Matejka says. For commodity sectors on the other hand, the strong dollar index is a headwind, "so they are unlikely to lead. We are therefore closing our tactical OW in Mining, and believe the better ways to position in the current backdrop are through US Banks. [...] We reiterate our recent call that Chinese activity is likely to stabilise into year-end, helped by the pickup in house prices and a rebound in the equity market."

1146: Some market commentary is linking today´s advance in London-listed financials to remarks from Governor Carney that no new major overhaul of bank capital reforms was udnerway.

1021: StanChart´s corporate debt ratings have reportedly been placed on review by Moody´s for a possible downgrade.

0825: The Footsie has begun the morning slightly higher led by the likes of Aberdeen Asset Management and HSBC. IHG and utilities are dragging on the top flight index, with the former having said it is not studying a possible sale or merger. There is little on the economic calendar for today. Investors appear to have brushed off weaker than expected data on Chinese exports and imports out over the weekend. FTSE 100 up 7.02 points to 6,360.85.