LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630:Close Stocks ended the session lower ahead of Friday's all-important US non-farm payrolls numbers and as the rout - or correction- in 'core' sovereign bond markets continued. Bund yields are now above the levels which prevailed before the ECB embarked on its QE programme. Some market observers put forth various possible reasons as possible explanations for the selling in government fixed-income markets including, but not limited to: 1) the Eurozone reflation trade, 2) Greek worries and 3) profit-taking. Once again, the selling coincided with the release of worse than expected US numbers, in the form of the latest foreign trade data. A move higher in crude prices during the session should perhaps also be noted. To take note of, some analysts have been heard of later musing that the US jobs report might turn out not to be particularly strong given positive seasonal and calendar effects. The IMF reportedly called for debt reflief on Greece's debt, albeit while taking a hard line on the need for pension and labour reforms. FTSE 100 down 58.37 points to 6,927.58 points.


1624: News of a worse than expected reading on the US trade deficit for March, which may see the preliminary estimate for first quarter economic growth Stateside revised down to -0.3% on an annualised basis, appears to have coincided again with a drop in sovereign bond prices in the US, Germany and the UK.In turn, German and French stocks have headed straight lower. The yield on 10-year Gilts is now up by 14 basis points to 1.99% while that on Bunds of equivalent maturity are up by seven basis points to 0.52%. There has been some market chatter of late that Friday's US non-farm jobs report will not be particularly strong.


1558: A report citing three OPEC delegates said the cartel would hold its current level of output unchanged when it next meets on 5 June.

1535: The Athens stock market's general index is now falling 4.68% to reach 787.36 points.

1534: Shares in AIM-listed DekelOil are up by 21% - giving it a market capitalisation of £19m - after the African palm oil producer announced year-to-date output was already ahead of that for all of 2014.

1438: Front month Brent crude futures are rising by 2.4% to reach $68.06 per barrel on the ICE. Reuters reports protesters have shut down the eastern Libyan port of Zueitina, which may hamper exports. In parallel, Saudi Aramco - the Saudi national oil company - said it would be raising its official selling prices (OSPs) for exports to Europe and North America in June, while holding them at previous levels for Asia.


1430: America's trade deficit with the rest of the world widened unexpectedly in March, according to a preliminary estimate from the US Department of Commerce. The gap between exports and imports of goods and services yawned wider to reach -$51.4bn - a six year high - as the shutdown at ports on the US west coast ended, leading to the release of the mountain of imports which had been pent-up. Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics revised his forecast for first quarter US GDP growth to an annualised rate of -0.3% from his previous forecast of growth of 0.2%.

1342: "Investors are looking to invest in shares of banks which have de-risked, are returning capital, have positive earnings momentum and are easily understood. LLOY is moving in the right direction on all counts and, for this reason, we believe the shares can appreciate to 102p," broker Jefferies says today. Analysts Joseph Dickeron, Omar Fall and Anish Lakhani also upgraded their view on the stock to buy from hold.

1303: In a research note released on Sunday Goldman Sachs reiterates its preference for newbuild given the resilient growth outlook, and positive free-cash-flow generation outlook, which should support leading dividend payouts across the sector. They highlight how Foxtons and Countrywide have noted "views of sellers and buyers apparently delaying the decision to transact until the elections, and therefore expect activity in 2H15 to be crucial to FY delivery". Goldman has a neutral recommendation on the shares of both of those builders.

1036: Brussels bumped up its forecasts for growth in the European Union and the Eurozone in 2015 to 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively. That was one and two tenths of a percentage point better than it projected three months ago. Revised forecasts for 2016 put growth in the EU and euro area at 2.1% and 1.9%.

0951: Greek 10-year bond yields are higher by 39 basis points on an earlier report in the FT that the country might lose IMF support.

0930: Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the UK's construction sector slipped to a reading of 54.2 - a 22-month low - from 57.8 in the month before (consensus: 57.4). Output and new orders expanded at their slowest rate since June 2013.

0817: Stocks are playing catch-up with the gains seen in their European and US peers on Monday. Shares in miners are at the bottom of the pile following worse than expected production figures out of Glencore. A report in the Financial Times regarding the end of China's "migrant miracle", which saw 278m rural labourers move to urban areas since 1978, may also be weighing on sentiment. Aberdeen Asset Management undershot analysts' forecasts for earnings per share this morning. Overnight, the Royal Bank of Australia lowered its cash rate by 25 basis points, as expected by markets. The European Commission is due to publish its spring economic forecast later in the morning. FTSE 100 up 25.32 points to 6,985.95 points.

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