Market Pulse
US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher as oil prices rally
US futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street as rising oil prices helped to offset softer-than-expected Chinese trade data.
Greggs steams ahead in first quarter thanks to salads and breakfasts
With hot food in its belly, Greggs got off to a strong start of the year with a 5. 7% rise in like-for-like sales in spite of the tepid conditions on British high streets.
BMO upgrades Tullow Oil to 'outperform'
BMO Capital Markets upgraded Tullow Oil to ‘outperform’ from ‘market perform’ and lifted the target price to 310p from 200p.
Jefferies upgrades Smith & Nephew to 'buy'
Jefferies upgraded artificial knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and lifted the price target to 1,375p from 1,044p.
Citi downgrades Centamin again
Centamin continued to be a "top-quality" group but investors were now paying too much for that quality, analysts at Citi said.
Greece approves pension and tax reforms, but analysts less than positive
Greece's parliament approved pension and tax reform measures over the weekend, which analysts said may help the country to clinch access to the emergency funding it required to avoid another recession, although they continued to show concern regarding the medium-term growth potential of the economy.
Nationwide raises maximum mortgage age to 85
Building society Nationwide raised its maximum age limit for mortgages to 85 from 75 on Monday, making it the oldest limit of any of the major lenders - though it wasn’t about to take any major risks in lending to the retired.
Wood Group wins two contracts in southern Iraq
John Wood Group has won a pair of three-year contracts in Iraq worth a combined $140m.
Chinese oil imports boosted by independent refiners in April
China imported significantly more oil last month, led by demand from independent refiners as the country's state-run oil giants moved to shut-in production from higher cost fields.
London open: Stocks rise as oil prices rally
London stocks rose on Monday as oil prices rallied after data showed China’s crude imports rose last month.
Europe open: Stocks edge higher as oil advances
European stocks edged higher in early trade following losses last week, as oil prices pushed higher.
UK house price growth continues to slow, Halifax shows
UK house price growth in the three months to April slowed more than expected, with the rate of growth compared to the preceding quarter and the same quarter last year both at their lowest since last autumn.
Chinese iron ore and rebar futures fall limit-down
Iron and rebar futures fell limit down on China's main commodity exchanges on Monday as speculators continued to exit positions.
G4S makes 'positive' start to year, no new impairments
Security firm G4S said on Monday that it has made a positive start to the year despite a challenging backdrop, with no new impairments.
German factory orders boosted by overseas demand for capital goods
German factories whirred back to life in March much more quickly than markets had anticipated, boosted by a surge in orders for capital goods from overseas.
Bango acquires DCB rival BilltoMobile to become US market leader
Bango has acquired US direct carrier billing (DCB) rival BilltoMobile from its Korean parent company for an initial $3. 5m mostly in cash.
ITE Group H1 profit up, new CEO appointed
Events company ITE Group posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit as it announced the appointment of a new chief executive.
London pre-open: Stocks seen higher as oil advances, despite weak China data
London stocks were expected to open higher on Monday despite weak trade data from China, as oil prices advance.
Fewer deaths make for lower revenue at Dignity
Sales took a turn for the worse at Dignity in the first quarter, with the funeral services provider reporting a 5% decrease in revenue in the 13 weeks to 25 March on Monday, to £81. 2m.
Monday newspaper round-up: Oil prices, UK auto, Royal Mail, Saudi
Oil prices climbed more than 2% on Monday morning in Asia as traders weighed the impact of wildfires continuing to rage in Canada’s top oil-producing province and a change at the top in Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose as much as 2. 5 per cent to $46. 68 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, gained as much as 2. 9 per cent to $45. 94. - Financial Times.