Market overview: FTSE 100 finishes up 0.1%

1630: Close The FTSE 100 finished up 6.16 points at 6,933.74 after a choppy session as investors showed pre-election nervousness, while comments from Janet Yellen didn't help. Corporate earnings came in mostly better than expected, with Sage, Imperial, Legal & General and GKN impressing with results. Sainsbury's bucked the trend however, finishing down 3.2% after underwhelming with its full-year figures.

1623: Heading into the close, the FTSE has dropped back into the red, down two points at 6,925 following a weak start on Wall Street after Janet Yellen warned of valuation risks. Speaking at a conference alongside the IMF's Christine Lagarde, Yellen said "equity market valuations at this point generally are quite high".

1430: In light of today's strength in euro/dollar there is market chatter regarding this afternoon's options expiries in euro/dollar, with strikes at 1.1150-60, 1.1250 and 1.1300.

1415: As of 14:15 euro/dollar was advancing 0.80% to 1.1276, nearing a key level of so-called technical resistance at $1.1290. A subsequent key level of resistance was to be found 1.1376, according to Bill Hubard, chief economist at Bankor. “But, in the longer term, the symmetrical triangle from 2010-2014 favours further weakness towards parity. As a result, we view the recent sideways moves as a pause in an underlying declining trend. Key supports can be found at $1.0504 (21/03/2003 low) and $1.0000 (psychological support),” Hubard added.

1320: Some traders are reporting errors in receipt of market data for the DJ Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 indices.

1315: In April private sector payrolls in the US hit their lowest level since January 2014. According to consultancy ADP payrolls dropped to 169,000 last month (consensus: 200,000) after rising by a downwardly revised 175,000 in March.

1217: A report is referencing the FT's Alphaville as saying there may be some substance to recent speculation regarding a possible takeover bid for Aveva surfacing from a US outfit.

1045: As well as showing declining market share for the Big Four UK supermarkets, researchers at Kantar Worldpanel said total supermarket sales have slowed to a revenue growth of 0.2% compared to last year. The last 12 weeks have seen a record low for grocery price deflation, as the price war continues to rage in reaction to the rise of the discounters, with a typical basket of everyday items is now 2.1% cheaper than it was in 2014. However, data out from the British Retail Consortium and market researchers Nielsen showed a slight easing of retail price deflation year-on-year. The monthly BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index (SPI) recorded falls in April of 1.9%, from the 2.1% fall in March and giving a 12-month rolling average of a 1.7% fall. All major categories displayed downward price pressure, which will contribute to the flat overall consumer price index inflation the UK is currently experiencing.

0930: The UK's service sector grew more than expected in April, data from Makit/CIPS revealed. The purchasing mangers' index rose to 59.5 in April from 58.9 a month earlier, more than the 58.5 predicted by analysts. A reading above 50 signals expansion while a reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

0833: Stocks have begun the morning higher led by gains in Imperial Tobacco and GKN on the last day for campaigning ahead of tomorrow’s elections. However, German 10-year Bunds and Greek bonds remain under some pressure in the early going. Reports indicate Greece has already made the €200m payment falling due to the IMF today. A decision from the ECB on its emergency liquidity facility will also be in focus. The US ADP monthly payrolls report is due out later in the day. Greek ten-year bond yields are higher by 16 basis points to 11.24% and those on Bunds by three basis points to 0.55%. FTSE 100 up 12.43 points to 6,940.01.