Market overview: Stocks bounce, oil doesn't

1630:Close BP closed at the head of the pack after an early bounce in oil futures which petered out later in the session. Stock in Shire was also higher on the back of an upgrade out of analysts at Credit Suisse. There was little in the way of economic data out on Wednesday, although stronger-than-expected Chinese trade figures did soothe some jangled nerves, as did slightly dovish remarks from two Fed speakers – at least if you were expecting four rate hikes from the Fed this year. One of the market’s best-known ‘perma-bears’, SocGen’s Albert Edwards, predicted the S&P would eventually drop below the 666 point lows hit in 2009. FTSE 100 up 31.73 to 5,960.67.

1629: Three-month copper futures drifted lower by 0.1% to $4,367.50 per metric tonne in LME trading.

1530: SocGen's Albert Edwards has told clients today the S&P 500 could set new lows below those seen during the last financial crisis, towards 550 points.

1430: The president of the Dallas Fed is also weighing in with slightly dovish or neutral remarks today, saying it may be too soon to anticipate four interest rate hikes in 2016, although he is stressing the fact that interest rates at zero are by no means "free".

1420: The US central bank may want to raise rates more slowly given the recent low readings on inflation and worries about slow economic growth overseas, the president of the Boston Fed says.

1239: Exane BNP Paribas is sounding a downbeat note on UK banks today and in the process downgrading its recommendation on Lloyds to underperform. The note focused on Barclays in particular, with the broker telling clients that its view on Barclays had hardened. In its opinion the lender should raise £4bn of equity. “Even if this capital was not ultimately needed, we believe it could be used to significantly enhance earnings through a LME on its subordinated debt. Some GBP15bn of this was issued during the downturn, is excess to needs, and reduces group EPS by 6p per year. […] we continue to expect lower than consensus dividends over the next three years, with particular concerns around Barclays and Lloyds,” the analysts said. Exane also trimmed its targets for Barclays and Lloyds, while nudging that on StanChart 3% higher to 515p.

1000: Industrial production in the euro area fell by 0.7% month-on-month in November (consensus: -0.3%).

0938: Shares in Shire are continuing to gain - and on high trading volumes - after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock yesterday from neutral to outperform, albeit while lowering its target price to 5,000p from 5,400p.

0906: Stocks have started the day higher boosted by a largely unchanged fixing for the yuan overnight, although the Shanghai Composite did end the session off by 2.4%. Risk assets such as copper, oil and the South African rand have also found a bid, although investors will likely be mulling warnings - sometimes dire - from multiple analysts in recent days regarding the outlook for shares this year. Interbank lending rates have come back down sharply in Hong Kong, with the overnight Interbank Offered Rate dropping 58.5 percentage points to 8.31% this morning. Predictably, shares of miners and BP are leading gains early on. No data is scheduled for release in the UK today. Stateside, the Fed's latest Beige Book will be the focus of attention. FTSE 100 up 70.97 points to 6000.20.