Market overview: Experian tracks gains in Visa

0845: Stocks have started the morning on a subdued note despite the moderate gains seen on Wall Street overnight. Nonetheless, traders managed to shrug off a weaker than expected reading on Chinese manufacturing activity before the opening bell. Subsequent weaker than forecast readings on factory activity in France and Germany are also weighing a little on markets in the early going. To take note of, high ranking executives at Allianz have reportedly warned of a possible equity market crash. Shares in Experian advanced in the wake of ovenright gains by US rivals such as Visa – which helped propel the Dow Jones Industrials higher – while Meggitt reported Q1 trading figures in-line with analysts´ forecasts. FTSE 100 down 2 points to 7,025.90.

1530: Bad vibes for European mobile carriers, with the EC talking tough on mobile roaming charges in reaction to Google's plan to run a mobile phone network in the US where subscribers will be switch automatically between signals from different providers. EC digital commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the move from Google will have "repercussions" for the European mobile market. "It shows that roaming costs have no future. It should also be a clear signal for the [European] Council to abolish roaming charges," he said.

1510: US stocks opened with small losses on Thursday as investors digested a batch of weak economic data from home and abroad and mixed corporate earnings from America's blue chips.

1430: US equity markets are looking like opening lower due to some disappointing data elsewhere, but US weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly

1150: Mortgage lending rose in March, the industry trade body the CML says. Gross mortgage lending grew in March despite a decline during the first quarter of the year, with mortgage lending reaching £16.5bn last month, 21% higher than in February. Year-on-year, the amount rose by 7% but lending during the first quarter of the year was 12% down from the same period last year.

1120: Grocery giant Sainsbury's is to axe 800 jobs as part of its restructuring plans. Following major cuts at Morrison's earlier this month, Sainsbury's said it will cut department and deputy manager positions to help achieve about £500m of cost savings over the next three years.

1045: Quarterly results today include disappointing numbers from media bellwether WPP and bookie William Hill, a mixed bag from both Anglo American and aerospace components group Meggitt. Also in the aerospace space, Senior's subdued update has not been received well by the market.

1000: The FTSE is rising after news the UK government deficit has been cut. The Office for National Statistics revealed borrowing in March had fallen to £7.4bn, slightly worse than expected, but less than the £7.8bn last year. This came on top of a £2bn downward revision to borrowing in previous months that gives a boost to the economic credentials of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties ahead of the general election. The ONS said the government borrowed £87.3bn in the 2014/15 fiscal year, below both the official budget forecast of £90.2bn and down £11.1bn compared with last year’s total.

0945: UK retail sales fell in March due to a decline in fuel sales, the Office for National Statistics says. Year-on-year, retail sales were up by 4.2% last month, lower than expectations of a 5.4% increase. In February, sales were up by 5.4%. The weak figures may increase the chances that gross domestic product will show a slowdown in economic growth for the first quarter but Capital Economics analyst Vicky Redwood said the results were “disappointing but not too much of a worry”.

0845: Stocks have started the morning on a subdued note despite the moderate gains seen on Wall Street overnight. Nonetheless, traders managed to shrug off a weaker than expected reading on Chinese manufacturing activity before the opening bell. Subsequent weaker than forecast readings on factory activity in France and Germany are also weighing a little on markets in the early going. To take note of, high ranking executives at Allianz have reportedly warned of a possible equity market crash. Shares in Experian advanced in the wake of ovenright gains by US rivals such as Visa – which helped propel the Dow Jones Industrials higher – while Meggitt reported Q1 trading figures in-line with analysts' forecasts. FTSE 100 down 2 points to 7,025.90.