Market overview: US Case-Shiller index gains 0.5% in February

LONDON (ShareCast) - 1410: The US Case-Shiller index, which monitors house prices in 20 different cities, advanced 0.5% in February 1130: Cameron has said only his party can save the UK ahead of the 7 May general election. Cameron's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party are neck-and-neck with neither expected to win an overall majority, according to the latest polls. "Not winning the election outright is obviously not a success," he said. "I have a duty to spend the next 10 days to win the election outright ... Ten days to save the United Kingdom." 1030: Total (Swiss: FP.SW - news) revenues from Standard Chartered (Other OTC: SCBFF - news) fell 4% to $4.4bn, a 6% miss versus consensus forecasts of $4.7bn. Customer loans rose by 2% quarter-on-quarter after a 4% decline in the second half of 2014. "On one level, the market may be mildly relieved by today's numbers," said broker Investec (LSE: INVP.L - news) , "but we think that STAN's Q1 2015 IMS offers a preview of the unpalatable impact of planned deleveraging (now underway)." 0954: Greek 10-year bond yields are down by 71 basis points to reach 11.35%.

0954: Astrazeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) is at the bottom of the pile after the results of a study showed US rival Merck (Other OTC: MKGAF - news) 's diabetes drug met heart-safety requirements. The British drugmaker's own treatment for that chronic disease was recently required by US authorities to carry information about the risk of heart failure.

0944: Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) 's chairman says company has made preparations in case it receives a takeover offer.

0930: Economic activity in Britain slowed far more than economists had been anticipating at the start of the year, according to a preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a quarter-on-quarter pace of 0.3% in the three months ended in March, after an expansion of 0.6% in the last quarter of 2014.

0840: UK stocks have started the morning slightly lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with shares of Astrazeneca and Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) leading the retreat. BP on the other had has barreled past analysts' estimates, after reporting $2.6bn in first quarter profits, well ahead of the $1.2bn expected in markets. Acting as a backdrop, China's central bank may be set to unleash new quantitative easing measures, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. That has light a fire under copper futures early in the session, which may give miners a boost. UK GDP data is due out at 09:30. FTSE 100down by 26.15 points to 7,077.53.