Market overview: Banks, travel stocks lead gains

1630:Close Shares in lenders and travel-related stocks led gains on the top flight index after analysts at BofA pushed back their call for the timing of the first BoE rate hike to the start of 2017, while the latter were boosted by better than expected half-year figures from Easyjet. Miners also bounced back following the previous session’s large falls. Nevertheless, the real trigger for Tuesday’s gains lay on the other side of the Atlantic where the main Wall Street gauges were registering a sharp move to the upside. Also on the positive side of the ledger, a deal to relieve Greece’s debt burden now appeared to be on the table in Brussels after the previous day’s meeting of euro area finance chiefs. Back in the UK on the other hand, investors had to digest another crop of poor data in the shape of trade figures for the month of March and the latest monthly tally for retail sales from BRC. Topping it all off, the latest poll from the BCC showed support for Brexit among business types was on the up. FTSE 100 up 41.84 points to 6,156.65.

1515: Job openings in the US rose to 5.76m in March from 5.61m in the month before (consensus: 5.45m). "We see little new information here - the quit rate just moves in line with the unemployment rate, over time - but Fed Chair Yellen has argued on several occasions that it is a useful measure of the state of the labor market. Right now, it says that conditions are tight," Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a research report.

1330: Three-month LME copper futures are down by 0.6% to $4,709.75 per metric tonne.

1329: Greek 10-year bond yields are down sharply at 7.795% on hopes of debt relief for the country following yesterday's Eurogroup meeting.

1241: Bank of America Merrill Lynch has pushed back its forecast for the Bank of England's rate rise to May 2017, from its prior estimate of November 2016.

1240: By lunchtime on Tuesday London's blue chip index had lost some of its earlier froth but was still 0.33% higher at 6,134.89. Rallying oil prices were offset by gloomy trade data. At 1138 BST Brent crude was up 1.1% to $44.08 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate was flat at $43.41 per barrel.

1230: Afternoon comments from Credit Suisse on the morning's news included mixed thoughts on EasyJet, as the company's commitment to dividends was positive but worries about third-quarter pricing guidance that was "starkly weak" due to April, although underlying trends are more benign. The bank said it was lowering estimates and its share target price to 1,985p from 2,137p.

1015: Pretty horrible is the general reaction of commentators to data on UK trade from the Office for National Statistics. The deficit on goods and services narrowed more than expected in March as exports rose, but the total trade deficit widened to an eight-year high of £13.3bn in the first quarter. "A truly horrible first quarter trade performance that clearly weighed down on GDP growth and bodes ill for the first quarter current account deficit," said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight, noting that it will have been a third successive quarter that negative net trade held back GDP growth. Pantheon Macro added that while this does not imply that the preliminary GDP estimate will be revised down later this month, "it does underline that the recovery is struggling on all fronts".

1001: Prices for bulk commodities "are unlikely to breach January lows" Citi's David Wilson says, but "we do expect some level of correction to persist over the next month".

1000: Credit Suisse reduces underweight on mining and upgrades luxury to overweight. In the background, Bloomberg TV is commenting on how the Federal Reserve's balance sheet has stopped growing and the S&P 500.....has been flat. Sounds about right.

0955: Earlier, the acronym-rich BRC-KPMG monthly Retail Sales Monitor (RSM) showed UK retail sales in April fell on a like-for-like basis compared to last year, with non-food sales outweighing positive food sales. Total sales were flat for a second month in a row, but the LFL retail sales for April fell 0.9% on the same month last year, well short of the consensus +0.5%. Broker Peel Hunt said this data along with other prints "reinforce the view that UK consumer confidence is waning" and Pantheon Macroeconomics agreed the negative headline LFL figure was no surprise, following other weak surveys and a series of poor trading updates from retailers, but the hotter weather in early May should ensure postponed purchases are now undertaken. "Nonetheless, the slowdown in employment growth and the intensification of the fiscal squeeze in April suggest that a fundamental slowdown in consumer spending growth is under way and that any bounce back in sales in May will be relatively modest."

0947: "At a 25% discount to NAV we view British Land as attractive and believe significant Brexit risk is already priced in," Citi analyst Aaron Guy says in a research note, reiterating his 'buy' recommendation. However, his peers at the broker retained a "cautious" stance on UK estate agents ahead of the 23 June referendum, but nevertheless lift their recommendation from 'sell' to 'neutral'.

0940: HSBC analysts have cut their target price for Royal Bank of Scotland shares to 240p from 260p on the back of cutting 2016-17 estimated EPS to reflect the dismantling of CIB and disposal losses within the capital resolution unit. The target price cut is contingent on £11bn of surplus capital post settlement of US litigation. HSBC's recommendation remains 'hold'.

0930: Capita shares are "potentially beginning a share price reversal from two-year lows" as they gapped up to levels not seen since the end of December, said Accendo Markets head of research Mike Van Dulken. Traders are impressed with the company's AGM statement and with no material contracts up for renewal in 2016, the outlook is good. "After such a good start some are understandably asking whether the company is staying cautious at this early stage," MVD added, with the potential for expectations to be beaten and guidance raised as the year progresses leading investors to leap through this buying window.

0901: The blue chip index was up 0.88% to 6,168.81 after the first hour as the London open report is published.

0845: In initial trading on Tuesday, Capita is the strongest riser in the FTSE 100, up 4.5% to 1,070p after a trading statement that claims a 'solid' start to the year. EasyJet is another strong riser, up 2% to 1,500p, after reporting a smaller interim loss than expected. On the mid-cap index, pumps group Spirax-Sarco is up 1.2% to 3,485p after saying its markets had found a floor, Bovis Homes is up 1% to 892.5p after an in-line trading statement that has divided analysts, while Grafton down 0.5% to 687p as the builders merchanting and DIY company said it had a positive start to the year.

0820: Industrial output in Germany dropped sharply in March, weighed down by falls in the production of capital, intermediate goods as well as activity in the construction sector. Production declined by 1.3% over the month, dragging the year-on-year rate of growth from 2.0% to 0.3%. Economists had pencilled in a dip of 0.2%.

0807: The FTSE 100 was up 31 points after the first few minutes of trading on Tuesday, 0.5% higher at 6,145.40 to erase the 11-point loss from Monday. The rise comes after inflation data out of China overnight was slightly stronger than expected. The mining sector was on the front foot despite a tumble for iron ore prices. Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange were down by about 5.1%, although the SGX AsiaClear contract for June settlement was nearly unchanged in late trading at $50.94 per metric tonne after earlier dipping below the $50 mark for the first time since March, according to Bloomberg data. Retail sales in the UK were flat according to the latest BRC figures, as fashion sales dropped. Trade data for march is due out at 09:30, courtesy of ONS. FTSE 100 up 29.38 points or 0.28% to 6,144.

0759: Chinese consumer prices held steady at 2.3% year-on-year in April, for a fourth consecutive month, as expected by analysts. However, factory gate deflation decreased from -4.3% year-on-year in March to 3.4% in April, as energy prices rebounded. "Following 26 straight months in negative territory, the m/m change in producer prices was positive in March and April, which should ease concerns over deflation," analysts at Capital Economics said, forecasting CPI in China would remain close to current levels throughout the remained of this year.