Market overview: UK factory output falls sharply in February

0930: Total industrial production decreased by 0.3% month-on-month, according to the Office for National Statistics.Economists had forecast an increase of 0.3%. Manufacturing production was weakest, falling by 1.1% versus January (consensus: +0.7%).

0915: Stocks have started the morning higher, with miners and banks in the lead at the sector level, the same as over on the continent. That is despite a lower close overnight on Wall Street, and mixed trading in Asia. The Shanghai Stock Exchange's Composite Index finished the Friday session down by 0.78% at 2,984.96, although Japan's Nikkei-225 registered a small bounce, alongside a similar movement in the US dollar/yen cross, which is bouncing back 0.8% to 109.98 as of 09:15 BST. Front month Brent crude futures are also rising. The main event on the economic calendar today are February's industrial and manufacturing output figures for February, due out shortly. FTSE 100 up 40.49 points to 6,177.38.