Market overview: Tullow and BHP lead gains

1630:Close UK stocks resisted the selling seen in Europe and Stateside, led by gains in Tullow Oil, as investors banked on the possibility for fiscal largesse from the Chancellor in tomorrow’s Budget. Shares in BHP Billiton lent their weight to the advance after the outfit announced it would keep its dividend pay-out intact. However, investors in other jurisdictions reigned in their horns ahead of Wednesday’s Fed policy meeting. As regards the Budget RBS’s Ross Walker “there remains a troubling lack of transparency about exactly what spending will have to be cut and exactly which taxes will have to rise.” FTSE 100 up 33.5 points to 6,837.61 points.

1625: Dragon Oil has received a take-over approach from Emirates National oil.

1525: Shares in CRH are down 2.8% and have now fallen 7.5% over the last two days since Holcim rejected the terms of its proposed tie-up with Lafarge. CRH is due to buy €6.5bn of assets from the two European cement giants as part of their potential merger. Nevertheless, ratings agency Fitch said that if the deal breaks down it would be positive for the credit profile of CRH, given that it has concerns about the group's ability to ease its debt burden following the potential purchase. CRH's 'BBB' rating is already on 'rating watch negative', Fitch said.

1523: Analysts at Macquarie have reportedly lowered their 2015 forecast for the price of iron ore to $54 per tonne.

1522: Prosecutors in the US investigating currency manipulation are studying revoking years-old settlements, Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter. Barclays, RBs and UBS are among the lenders who signed those types of deals.

1316: The boards of Banco Sabadell and TSB are set to approve the proposed bid on Thursday, according to a report from Reuters.

1230: US housing starts dropped by an outsized 17% month-on-month in February to 897,000 (consensus: 1.04m), likely due to the impact of poor weather, but building permits increased.

1219: The Greek government is reportedly set to outline emergency funding plans to Parliament on Tuesday to boost liquidity. Separately, a Greek government official said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will visit Moscow on 8 April after being invited to talks by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

1116: IMF Executive Director Christine Lagarde, who is now touring India, has been cited as remarking on the potential impact which Fed tightening may have on emerging markets.

1115: Front month Brent crude futures are down 1.7% to $53.02 per barrel on the ICE. US oil production will continue growing this year and next if there is a rebound in prices to about $60 per barrel, Wood Mackenzie estimates, according to yesterday's FT. IHS believes the median break-even oil price for shale projects was at $57 last year and is expected to fall significantly this year.

1112: From the FT's Lex column to Bloomberg, the talk is on the scuffle between Holcim and Lafarge to see who will take the helm at a combined outfit. Unsurprisingly, stock in CRH is now to be seen at the bottom of the pile. Kepler Cheuvreux SA cut the odds of the chances of a successful deal to below 50% from 95%

1001: Core euro area CPI has printed at 0.7% year-on-year for February, one tenth of a percentage point more than had been expected.

1000: The ZEW institute’s gauge of economic confidence in Europe's largest economy improved to a reading of 54.8 from the prior month’s level of 53. The consensus forecast had been for a print of 59.4.

0949: Citi has upgraded Lonmin to buy.

0936: TUI AG is going places, UBS writes to clients in a research note today. The company’s Capital Markets Day on 13 May is a potential catalyst, the broker says, adding the shares to its most preferred list. Whitbread gets a “out of jail free card” from UBS’s least preferred list, IHG takes its place. UBS now has a sell recommendation and 2,375p target on the latter. FTSE 100 up 32 points to 6,831.

0932: In all things Russian, the rouble is now higher by 1% to 61.54 versus the greenback. There is some light newsflow related to the country's military excercises in its northern territories, Baltic sea included. Interfax reports ongoing shelling in the Donetsk and Mariupol regions.

0833: Like-for-like sales won't be any prettier over the coming nine to twelve months, Sainsbury's CFO told Bloomberg TV. "Better than feared," chips in Shore Capital's Clive Black. The analysts adds that: "The financial out-turn that Sainsbury's, and its peers, depends on the performance of Tesco, which is gradually regrouping after a sustained period of under-performance and near-term toil."

0829: Stocks have started the morning modestly higher, led by gains Sainsbury. The grocer reported a smaller than expected 1.9% drop in fourth quarter like-for-like sales. Market chatter around Antofagasta continues to centre on the on-going dispute at its Los Pelambres mine. The miner’s full-year sales nd revenues have come in below analyst’s forecasts. Nonetheless, management sounded a positive note on the outlook for copper prices, should the Chinese economy grow 7% this year, as expected. Overnight, Chinese stocks finished at their highest level since 2008. Lower oil prices may weigh on consumer prices, Bank of Japan Governor said this morning. FTSE 100 up 32 to 6,832 points.