London’s FTSE 100 index is heading for a fifth week in a row of gains after banks and oil stocks sent the top flight 1% higher today.

The resilience comes in a week when traders have grappled with expectations for a rapid rise in US interest rates over this year.

Brent crude today dipped to below $100 barrel at one point as oil prices head for their second weekly decline in a row.

FTSE 100 Live Friday

• FTSE 100 surges 1%, highest since mid-February

• Brent crude price near to $100 a barrel

• Russian gold miner Polymetal dropped by Deloitte

US markets open lower

14:48 , Rhiannon Curry

In the US, the Dow Jones has opened 14.3 points lower at 34,569.24, while the S&P 500 opened at 4,494.15, just over 6 points lower than yesterday’s close.

The Nasdaq Composite index opened 35.8 points lower, at 13,861.49.

All three indexes reversed gains made at the end of yesterday’s trading session, after another choppy day in the markets.

Investors are continuing to grapple with the implications of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy-setting meeting that suggested more aggressive monetary tightening is underway.

Households’ financial confidence dives as food prices and energy bills hit budgets

14:10 , Rhiannon Curry

British households’ confidence in their finances have sunk to the lowest point in a decade, according to a survey.

The consumer confidence index from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research fell in March to 103.9, its lowest level since January 2021 and down from 106.6 in February.

Both past and future gauges of household financial confidence reached their lowest levels since the survey started in 2012, as rising food and energy prices mean people’s budgets are increasingly stretched.

Emma McInnes, global head of financial services at YouGov, said: “The ongoing cost of living crisis and uncertainty caused by continued conflict in Ukraine has, once again, seriously impacted on both consumer confidence and the public’s household finances.

“For the second month running, tumbling household finance measures - both retrospective and forward-looking – find themselves at their lowest ever level since tracking began almost ten years ago.”

She said that aside from a small uptick in job security outlook, confidence and household finance figures, combined with house price scores stagnating after four months of growth, had largely contributed to the overall index continuing to fall.

FTSE up more than 1% as banks and oil rise

13:15 , Rhiannon Curry

In the markets this lunchtime, the FTSE 100 was up 78.6 points at 7,630.36, driven by a rise in the value of banking and oil stock.

Standard Chartered was up 3.4%, while Barclays and NatWest had gained 2.73% and 2.21% respectively.

Oil producers were also among the top risers, with Shell up 2.9% and Anglo American up 2.46% during the morning’s trading.

The pound was trading at $1.30, and €1.19.

Cordiant Global pulls $300 million IPO

13:04 , Mark Banham

The slowdown of the initial public offering (IPO) market has claimed its latest victim with Cordiant Global Agricultural Income today putting its $300 million stock market listing on hold due to concerns about the global economic climate.

Cordiant Global Agricultural Income, which provides “investment finance to large and medium scale agricultural producers”, said it would pause the process and bring any new negotiations “to the public markets in due course” after receiving interest from “a wide range” of investors.

IPO volumes dropped 37% during the first quarter of this year, according to figures released last week from global consultancy EY, as the outbreak of war in Ukraine and accompanying disruption to global commodity markets chilled investor sentiment. IPO proceeds were down by 51% year-on-year.

Hollywood Bowl strikes it lucky

12:55 , Mark Banham

Hollywood Bowl, the UK’s largest ten-pin bowling operator, has scored record first half revenues after enticing customers back to its venues after endless coronavirus lockdowns.

The group, which also owns minigolf brand Puttstars, rang up sales of £91.3 million in the six months to 31 March, up almost 660% compared with the £12 million it turned over the same period last year. The strong performance means full year results are now on track to be “ahead of current market expectations,” the company said.

Hollywood Bowl, which is reinstating its dividend for the first-half of the year, saw its shares leap 17p to 278p.

The company said it would be investing further into solar energy to lessen its grid reliance as energy costs jump.

TalkTalk owners mull sale after rivals show interest

11:02 , Rhiannon Curry

TalkTalk has appointed investment bank Lazard to review its options after receiving several approaches to buy all or part of the company, according to reports from Sky News and the FT.

One of the offers is thought to have come from Vodafone and another from Sky, although at this stage, it is unclear whether any formal offers are likely to be received.

Vodafone was last linked to a bid for TalkTalk at the end of 2020.

Toscafund, which instead helped take the company private 18 months ago, could value it at up to £3 billion, the reports suggested.

Vodafone and TalkTalk declined to comment.

CMC hails near record year

11:00 , Oscar Williams-Grut

CMC Markets new trading platform is “ahead of schedule and on budget”, the online broker said today, as it reported a bumper end to the year just gone.

CMC, led by Tory peer Lord Cruddas, said its new non-leveraged investment platform had been launched internally and would open to the public in the middle of this year.

The company said trading over the last few months had been the best of the year and leaves it on track to report net income of £280 million. Lord Cruddas said: “Outside of the pandemic year, this is a record net operating income result for the company.”

Shares are up over 8%.

Banks lead FTSE 100 to highest since mid-February

10:20 , Graeme Evans

Demand for banks, miners and oil companies today pushed the FTSE 100 index to its highest level since mid-February as traders shrugged off interest rate jitters.

A strong close on Wall Street set the tone for London’s better-than-expected session, with a rise of 84.83 points to 7636.64 meaning the FTSE 100 is up 9% over the past month after five successive weeks in positive territory.

The strong performance comes despite the Ukraine war and expectations that US monetary policy is about to see its fastest tightening in two decades.

The outlook for margins-enhancing rate rises meant banks featured heavily on the FTSE 100 risers board, with Standard Chartered, Barclays and NatWest all up more than 2%.

They were joined by BP and Shell, even though Brent crude opened the session at below $100 a barrel. The broad-based rally for London’s top flight also included strong gains for Anglo American, Whitbread and Royal Mail.

The FTSE 250 index rose 0.6% or 129.89 points to 21,167.69, with Ukraine-based iron ore pellet company Ferrexpo the biggest riser after an update showed production holding up better than the City had expected.

Shares jumped 12% or 20.8p to 188.5p after it reported a first quarter figure of 2.7 million tonnes, in line with the same period of 2021 but down 11% on the previous quarter.

It is delivering pellets to customers in Europe via rail and barge, but activities at the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi continue to be suspended.

Elsewhere in the FTSE 250, Johnson Matthey shares were 4.5p higher at 1899p after new boss Liam Condon said annual results should be in line with City expectations. The clean air business had been trading at 3,300p this time last year.

FTSE 100 rallies, Ferrexpo 8% higher

09:06 , Graeme Evans

The FTSE 100 index is up 1% after a broad-based rally featured 2% gains for Shell and BP and the banks Barclays and Standard Chartered.

Other big risers include Whitbread and Anglo American, while FTSE 100 newcomer Howden Joinery is 2% higher after Deutsche Bank reiterated its “buy” recommendation.

The top flight rose 78.80 points to 7630.61, a gain of more than 9% in the past month.

The FTSE 250 index rose 0.6% or 134.60 points to 21,174.10, with CMC Markets up 7% after it forecast £280 million of net income for the year to March 31, a record performance outside of the pandemic period.

Ukraine-based iron ore company Ferrexpo led the FTSE 250, rising 8% after an update showed production holding up better than the City had expected.

Deloitte drops Polymetal

09:00 , Rhiannon Curry

Deloitte has resigned as auditor of London-listed Russian gold miner Polymetal International as it continues to withdraw from its operations in the region.

Along with a number of other professional services firms, Deloitte had already said that it would no longer operate in Russia and Belarus as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Because most of Polymetal’s 10 gold and silver mines are in Russia, Deloitte is no longer in a position to work for the company, it said.

Polymetal, which last year recorded revenue of $2.89 billion, said it had begun the search for a new auditor and would update shareholders in due course.

Johnson Matthey reassures on trading

08:49 , Graeme Evans

It’s been a turbulent past year for speciality chemicals business Johnson Matthey, following its surprise exit from battery materials, the departure of chief executive Robert MacLeod and relegation from the FTSE 100 index.

An update on trading from new boss Liam Condon today shows that results for the year to 31 March are in line with the City’s revised expectations. Growth has been driven by an improved performance in its clean air division, aided by increased activity in the automotive industry despite supply chain challenges.

Condon, who joined from Bayer’s crop sciences division on March 1, will provide more details on his strategy with results on 26 May.

He said: “Together with my team, we are reviewing our strategy and focused on providing a clear pathway to demonstrate how the group will create value from the many exciting opportunities we face as the world transitions to net zero.”

Shares were today 10p higher at 1903p in the FTSE 250 index, having been 3,300p a year ago.

Used car prices continue to rise

08:17 , Graeme Evans

The average price of a used car is up by 32% in a year, although there are signs today that the rate of growth is starting to ease.

Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index, which is based on daily pricing analysis of about 900,000 vehicles, revealed that the figure for March rose 0.1% on the 31.9% recorded in February. The average price of a used car was £17,946 in March.

The performance marks the 24th month of consecutive year-on-year price growth, meaning motorists will have seen the average value of their used car increase nearly £4,400 over this period.

Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s director of data and insights, said: “Despite growing economic pressures, the appetite for new and used cars remains above pre-pandemic levels, which combined with the ongoing squeeze in supply, will keep used car prices strong for the foreseeable future.”

Crude price near $100, FTSE 100 set to rise

07:43 , Graeme Evans

Brent crude traded below $100 a barrel for a brief period today as oil prices head for their second weekly decline in a row.

The release of strategic reserves by major energy consuming nations and the impact of China’s latest Covid-19 lockdowns have put downward pressure on prices this week.

Brent crude went below the $100 a barrel threshold earlier today, having set an intraday high of $139 at the start of the Ukraine war.

The recent surge in energy costs means US inflation is poised to surge through 8% next week, fuelling expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by half a percentage point at its May meeting.

The outlook for a quicker pace of monetary policy tightening has spooked Wall Street markets this week, although a late fightback meant the Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 all finished in positive territory last night.

As a result, CMC Markets is forecasting a rise of 40 points to 7591 when the FTSE 100 index resumes trading today.

It’s a more mixed picture in terms of the weekly performance, with Frankfurt’s Dax on course for a weekly decline but the FTSE 100 set to finish higher for the fifth week in a row.

CMC said the US dollar is also on course for its highest weekly close since May 2020, with the Japanese yen seeing the biggest losses this week followed by the euro.