Market overview: US retail sales rise more than forecast

1330: US retail sales rose 0.7% in November, more than the 0.4% increase expected by analysts. It follows a 0.5% gain a month earlier. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims increased 294,000 in the week to 6 December, compared to forecasts for a 297,000 rise.

1200: The Bank of England said it will provide instant information about its interest rate discussions and plans to hold fewer policy meetings as part of an overhaul to the way the central bank implements decisions.

1134: After a positive start, the sell-off has resumed with the Footsie dropping sharply into the red. Stocks in the heavyweight mining sector are providing a big drag on the blue-chip index with Fresnillo, Glencore, Randgold and Anglo American falling sharply. The downturn is being linked a worse-than-expected result from the ECB’s TLTROs with the take-up by banks less than forecasts.The FTSE 100 is down 40.05 at 6,459.99.

0914: Sentiment has been repaired somewhat today on the back of a Reuters report saying that China told banks to issue more loans in the final months of 2014 to boost lending. The People’s Bank of China has also reportedly relaxed limits on banks’ loan-to-deposit ratios and is allowing lenders to give out a record 10trn yuan (£1.03trn) in loans over 2014 as a whole. The FTSE 100 is up five points at 6,505.

0900: A number of stocks are trading lower after going ex-dividend, including Associated British Foods, Aberdeen Asset Management, Babcock and 3i Group

0830: The FTSE 100 has bounced off yesterday’s five-week low close of 6,500, though gains are modest. Stocks in the oil producing and oil services sectors are making gains early on as investors hunted for bargains in the aftermath of a recent sell-off. Petrofac, Tullow Oil, BP and Shell were all putting in a decent performance. Bunzl and Whitbread are trading lower after reporting a slight slowdown in sales growth. Sports Direct is up after impressing with its interim results, with first-half underlying profits rising 10%.