LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630: Close London's FTSE 100, which hit a low of 6,667.08 in morning trade, finished more or less flat, falling just 0.01% to 6,722.62. Losses were erased by the end of the session as gains in the retail and travel sector offset continuing declines in energy and oil services stocks. Kingfisher, Sports Direct, M&S, Carnival, TUI Travel and Easyjet all finished with decent gains. "Clearly firms with a focus on consumer spending will be indirect beneficiaries of increased spending thanks to lower petrol prices," said analyst Chris Beauchamp from IG.
1400: US indices were set for a mixed start today as markets reopen after Thanksgiving and get a chance to react to the OPEC decision. However, shortened trading hours (NYSE will close at 13:00 New York time) mean that volumes are likely to be low. Nevertheless, there have been some big movers in pre-market trade with Exxon, Chevron, Anadarko Petroleum, Conocophillips, Marathon Oil, Murphy Oil, Hess Corp and Devon Energy all trading with heavy losses after the recent slump in oil.

1256: Supermarket chains have been criticised by the police, after stores were over-run by bargain-hunters overnight as the UK embraced the US Black Friday retail frenzy. Officers were called to at least four supermarkets in London, while three Tesco stores were forced to close because of unruly behaviour and a number of arrests were reported.

1100: Gfk has released a report outlining stagnant results for November's UK consumer index, in contrast to expected improvements. November's result held steady at -2, in stark contrast to GfK's forecast improvement to -1. The FTSE continues to be firmly in the red as oil stocks continue to drag it lower following the OPEC's decision to maintain output.

1005: The annual rate of Eurozone inflation slowed down to just 0.3% in November, according to the flash estimate from EU statistical office Eurostat on Friday. This compared with year-on-year price rises of 0.4% in October, but met analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, unemployment in the region held steady at 11.5% in October, as had been widely expected by analysts. The FTSE is down 49 at 6,674.

0823: London markets dropped into the red on Friday morning as investors awaited the latest CPI figure out from the Eurozone and digested the news OPEC has decided to maintain a steady rate of 30m barrels per day oil output. The news sent oil companies sharply south. Meanwhile, shoppers are already battling it out for 'Black Friday', with thousands set to bag a bargain as the pre-Christmas sales officially open. The FTSE has fallen 28.73 to 6,694.69.

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