LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630:Close Stocks almost managed to end higher today, possibly on the back of comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke as regards the need to keep interest rates low. Also to be had in account, remarks from the ex-Director of the London School of Economics, Howard Davies, to the effect that there is a lack of sufficient 'capital' amongst the different stakeholders in Greek society so as to pursue the economic reforms which are deemed necessary to keep the country within the single currency area. Hargreaves Lansdown led gains on the top share index, followed by Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE.L - news) and Shire (Stuttgart: A0MMAG - news) . The latter two benefitted from positive broker commentary. Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) and Glencore, on the other hand, took a hit on news that two of Xstrata´s main shareholders may hold out for a larger premium. FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) down 2 to 5,890. 1539: Stocks continue to fall with the miners continuing to fall on London's blue chip index. Lloyds has slipped into the red in spite of an earlier rise on reports that it is cutting almost 1,000 jobs in the UK as well as closing some of its offices. According to its employee union Accord, the banking giant, which is undergoing an extended period of cost reduction and streamlining of its businesses, said it plans to make the 990 cuts through a combination of voluntary redundancy and natural turnover. Sector peers Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) and RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) are in positive territory. FTSE 100 down 25 at 5,867. 1334: Fallers outnumber risers by around three-to-one among FTSE 100 constituents, ahead of the US open. Wall Street is tipped to open modestly lower this afternoon as US investors, like the rest of the world's financial markets, wait on the outcome of the political wrangling in Greece over austerity measures. Grim retail sales data for January is having its effect on the likes of Burberry and Kingfisher (Euronext: KFR.NX - news) . Glaxo is on the slide after its fourth quarter sales figure came in lower than expected. FTSE 100 is down 26 at 5,866. 1150: The top share index is now near the lows of the day, although losses are still modest. Shire is now at the top of the leader board on the back of a positive research note out from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) . Also benefitting from positive broker commentary is Cairn Energy. Acting as a backdrop, the most recent reports are now indicating that Greece´s political leaders may not meet until after the close of markets today, towards 6pm local time. Of interest, there is market talk to the effect that even though Greece will obtain a second bail-out package from the EU that will not eliminate the risk of an exit from the euro further down the road. FTSE 100 down 25 to 5,867.
0941: Stocks have turned slightly lower after an initial feint higher. Shares are being weighed down by reports that the Chinese Ministry of Industry is anticipating a slowdown in the country´s industrial production, as the world economy cools and the European crisis worsens. In particular, Burberry, whose growth is closely linked to China´s, is now at the bottom of the pile on the top share index. PIMCO´s Gross is out saying that a ´hard landing´ in China is only a so-called ´tail risk´, but to no avail. FTSE down 20 to 5,873. 0845: Footsie (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) has opened slightly lower, with mining stocks weighing on the top share index. Xstrata leads the sector lower, as its shareholders grumble that the agreed offer terms from major shareholder Glencore are on the parsimonious side. Glencore is offering 2.8 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share in a deal that values each Xstrata share at 1,290.1p, based on last night's closing price for Glencore shares. Since then, Glencore's shares have gone up and Xstrata's shares have dipped, upping the value of the offer to 1,314.6p. BP edges higher after announcing a dividend increase in its fourth quarter trading update. FTSE 100 is down 5 at 5,887.
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