Market overview: US industrial production rises past forecasts

1330: Three-month copper futures are down by 0.1% to $4,628 per metric tonne in LME tradng.

1330: US housing starts jumped by 6.6% month-on-month in April to reach an annualised pace of 1.172m, according to the Department of Commerce. Economists had forecast a rate of 1.125m. Housing permits, a lead indicator for starts, grew by 3.6% month-on-month, hitting an annualised rate of 1.116m (consensus: 1.135m).

1330: The consumer price index advanced at a 0.4% month-on-month pace in April, following a rise of 0.1% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists had anticipated a reading of 0.3%. In comparison to a year ago, the rate of increase in CPI accelerated from 0.9% in March to 1.1% in April, just as expected by economists.

0930: UK CPI rose far less than economists had anticipated in April, advancing by 0.3% year-on-year against consensus calling for no change versus March’s print of 0.5%. Prices also undershot by a wide margin at the core level, with the year-on-year rate of gains dipping from 1.5% to 1.2% (consensus: 1.5%). So-called negative base effects accounted for much of the downward surprise, analysts at Barclays said, weighing on prices for transport and clothing & footwear prices as well as for those of housing, electricity, gas & other fuels . FTSE 100 up 57.79 points to 6,209.90.

0930: House prices in the UK advanced at a 9.0% year-on-year clip in March after a gain of 7.6% in the month before.

0915: Chinese rebar futures ended the Tuesday session up by 0.54% to 369.5 yuan ($315.72) per tonne on the Dalian Commodities Exchange.

0900: Stocks have started the morning on the up, led by gains in shares of housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group, with the former having enhanced its dividend payments policy and revised up its financial targets for the coming three years. Also acting as a favourable wind for the sector are the latest favourable Brexit poll results from ORB for The Telegraph. Canaccord has also reiterated its ‘buy’ stance on shares of the former. Anglo American for its part is seeing some follow-through buying from yesterday’s upgrade out of BofA, alongside a bounce in Inmarsat. On the economic side of things, UK house prices growth accelerated to 9.0% year-on-year in March, according to official data, up from the 7.6% rise seen in the month before. Monthly UK and US CPI will be in focus today. FTSE 100 up 54.69 points to 6,205.79.