Markets: FTSE 100 stuck in the red

17:03 - London's leading share failed to drag itself out of the red by closing bell on Friday.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) ended four points lower at 6082 as the miners continued to lag in response to China raising its bank reserve requirement for a fourth time in two months.

Slumped at the bottom of the pack was Petrofac (PFC) with losses of over 4.5%.

At a glance...

Commodities

Gold: $1,388.40 (up $1.30)

WTI crude oil: $87.70 (up $1.62)

Currencies

GBP/USD:1.6233 (up 0.007)

GBP/EUR: 1.1913 (up 0.0027)

EUR/USD: 1.3626 (up 0.0028)

16:38 - US stocks staged a turnaround as trading wore on, and were headed for their third straight week of gains.

The Dow Jones shot up 41 points to 12359, while the Nasdaq rose six points to 2837.

The broader S&P 500 dragged itself from the red to post a two point gain at 1342.

16:10 - Latest data from both the Bank of England and the Council of Mortgage Lenders indicate that housing market activity remained on the back foot at the start of 2011.

The Bank of England reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases by the major UK lenders was unchanged from December at 41,000 in January, which is the lowest level since March 2009. Furthermore, mortgage lending for house purchases amounted to just £4.7 billion in December, which was the lowest level since May 2009.

IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer said: "This evidence of ongoing very weak housing market activity reinforces our belief that house prices house prices will continue to trend down gradually in 2011. Specifically, we suspect that house prices will fall by around 5% in 2011 and end up losing around 10% from the peak levels seen in the first half of 2010."

"These figures highlight how important the private rental sector is going to be over the next few years," said David Whittaker of Mortgages For Business. "Until the mortgage market opens fully to first-time buyers it will continue to stagnate, leaving hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the rental sector."

15:42 - The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has hiked the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks by 0.5% to 19.5% in its latest bid to calm inflationary pressures.

China’s central bank made the move only a week after increasing the key interest rate by 0.25%.

Following the hike the dollar index jumped higher on its safe haven appeal, with investors cautious that higher rates could slow Chinese growth and lead to a weakening of the global recovery. The greenback was up 0.38% on the euro.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar, which is seen as highly correlated to the pace of Chinese growth, dived on the news.

15:13 - Banker bonuses were firmly back in the spotlight as it emerged that JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has been awarded a range of shares and options in this year's pay package that could be worth as much as $17 million.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Dimon was given 251,415 units in restricted stock, half of which will vest in January 2013 and the rest a year later.

Dimon was also awarded 367,377 in stock appreciation rights, worth an estimated $5 million based on the Black-Scholes model. Dimon's salary for the year wasn't disclosed, nor was his expected cash bonus.

14:45 - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Friday as investors digested the news that China's latest reserve requirement hike might hamper growth for the country and in turn, the global economy.

The Dow Jones managed to scrape together an eight point gain to 12326, while the Nasdaq rose just one point to 2832.

The S&P 500, however, bucked the trend with a one point loss to 1339. 

14:17 - Global mobile satellite communications services provider Inmarsat (ISAT) has awarded a $60 million (£37 million) contract to VT iDirect.

iDirect will provide the ground network infrastructure and core module technology for integration into the satellite terminals for Inmarsat's forthcoming Global Xpress service.

Leo Mondale, managing director of the Global Xpress programme, commented: "This is another big step for us toward setting the new standard in VSAT, by offering reliable, easy-to-use broadband connectivity solutions for remote and mobile platforms on land, at sea and in the air, wherever they are needed."

13:50 - Shares in Lansdowne Oil and Gas (LOGP) were on fine form on Friday, after it thrilled the market with news of improved economics across its Celtic Sea portfolio.

The Dublin-based exploration company said the latest competent persons report recorded an improvement in the economics of potential oil projects as a result of higher oil prices.

The positive update sent the company's shares over 12% higher in mid-morning trading.

For more, read: Lansdowne Oil & Gas improves Celtic Sea portfolio

13:20 - Environmental consultancy business RPS (RPS) has bought US-based oceanographic consulting firm Evans-Hamilton Incorporated (EHI).

RPS is paying a maximum of $8.67 million (£5.34 million) for the US firm, with $4.67 million being paid up front.

EHI provides oceanographic consulting and marine environment measurement services, as well as carrying out environmental and coastal process studies and assisting clients with offshore environmental compliance. It has similar technical capabilities and experience as MetOcean, the business RPS acquired in Australia in August 2007.

For more, read: RPS rides wave with latest acquisition.

12:51 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) was stuck in negative territory on Frdiay after China announced another hike to its Reserve Requirements Ratio (RRR).

The move sent miners lower on fears that a slower rate of growth in China would lead to less demand for commodities.

Petrofac (PFC) was bottom of the pile, with Rio Tinto (RIO) not far behind.

For the full story, read: China gets tough on inflation. 

12:21 - Investors bailed out of Sarantel (SLG) on Friday after the mobile antenna maker announced slower than expected sales.

The slump, in the first five months of its financial year was due to internal technical problems at two of its big customers.

The firm, which raised £1.25 million in December, said it is confident that once the clients have resolved the issues, their orders will return in the second half of the financial year.

For more, read: Sarantel hit by reduced sales.

11:51 - AIM-listed Serabi Mining (SRB) breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when it announced it had escaped a $2.2 million fine.

The Brazilian authorities had slapped the company with the hefty fine last June for alleged administrative breaches at its Palito mine.

The company described its relief that the "distraction" had now been resolved and said it would focus on the execution of its exploration programmes.

For more, read: Serabi Mining avoids $2.2 million fine.

11:23 - UK retail sales rebounded from their lows in the coldest December this century to beat economists’ expectations by almost four times in January, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But experts have questioned the strength of the recovery pointing to the challenging headwinds facing consumers over the next few months.

The stronger-than-expected jump of 1.9% from December shows that high street spending bounced back at the start of the year much like the wider economy. Consensus among economists was for a 0.5% rise.

10:55 - Investors were clearly impressed with the latest management statement from Anite (AIE), as shares rose more than 5% in morning trading.

The company, which provides testing systems for wireless companies saw growing 4G demand lifting orders at its handsets and networks businesses to record levels and offsetting a flat travel side.

"Travel in particular needs to finalise contracts for existing customers and prospects if it is to achieve the board's expectations for its full year performance. However, the better than expected trading performance in handsets has partially reduced final quarter risk in the wireless division and is expected to mitigate any shortfall in travel," the group said.

For more, read: Anite shares rise on upbeat statement.

10:28 - Shares in industrial engineer Charter () slumped more than 7% as the company’s final results revealed it is being held back by its European business.

Profit before tax jumped 55% to £144.1 million last year and by 18% to £148.2 million before exceptional items. Revenue was up 3.6% at £1.72 billion.

Charter, which makes most of its money from Europe, had warned in November that full-year earnings would be at the lower end of analysts’ forecasts.

For more, read: Charter slumps on European results.

10:01 - AIM-listed Solomon Gold (SOLG) has completed its first diamond drill hole on the Meriguna Prospect, Fauro Island Project, with encouraging results.

Findings included 10 metres at 2.93 grams/tonne gold and six metres at 1.1 g/t gold.

Following on, the gold and copper explorer said drilling of the second diamond hole, FDDH002 had recently got underway.

09:33 - Support services firm Rentokil Initial (RTO) saw profit grow 15% in 2010 to £192.3 million despite poor performance in its City Link and Benelux operations.

In the full year to 31 December its pest control operations saw profit growth of 9.9%, while its facilities services grew profit by 21.6%. Profit in the firm’s Asian Pacific department surged 40.3% due to the impact of new management, robust cost control and restructuring programmes, Rentokil said.

Structural issues in its City Link courier franchise led to its underperformance, according to the company. It added that the challenging weather conditions during the peak Christmas trading period worsened the impact.

09:03 - It was a dreary start for the FTSE 100 (UKX) on Friday morning, following a flat end to the day on Thursday.

Down 10 points, London's leading share index was perched at 6077 in early trading, with BAE Systems (BA.) tumbling to the bottom of the pack after shedding 1.4%.

In contrast, mining giant African Barrick Gold (ABG) led the blue chips with a gain of 1.18%.

In a further boost for commodity bulls, mining giant Anglo American (AAL) reported a near tripling of full-year net profits, thanks to strong performances across the board, but particularly within its iron ore, copper and platinum divisions.

The FTSE 100-listed heavyweight said net profit rose to $6.5 million in 2010, up from $2.43 billion a year earlier, as the commodity price rally and growing demand worked their magic.

It also used its results to announce plans to merge its UK cement and concrete business with French giant Lafarge. The 50:50 joint venture will create a "leading UK construction materials group," Anglo said.

US markets

Wall Street managed to recover its early falls by closing bell on Thursday, thanks to upbeat manufacturing data.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to 35.9 in February from 19.3 in January, smashing through economists' forecasts.

The Dow Jones stood 29 points higher at 12318 by the close of play, while the Nasdaq gained six at 2831 and the S&P 500 rose four to 1340.

At a glance...

Asian markets

Nikkei 225: 10842

Hang Seng: 23595

Shanghai Composite: 2899

Commodities

Gold: $1,387.10

WTI crude oil: $86.08

Currencies

GBP/USD: 1.6163

GBP/EUR: 1.1886

EUR/USD: 1.3598

08:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) opens at 6087.