1630: Close The FTSE closed in negative territory on Wednesday, reversing the morning's gains after the index reached highs not seen since January 2008. Topping the gainers was Vodafone, which surged after Bloomberg last night reported that part-owner Verizon Communications is looking to resolve its relationship with the UK telecoms group. CRH was leading the downside after going ex-dividend today. In economic news, UK house prices increased by 0.5 per cent month-on-month (1.9 per cent year-on-year) in February, reaching a level of 163,600 points, according to mortgage lender Halifax. UK shop prices increased at a 1.1 per cent year-on-year pace in February, following a rise of 0.6 per cent in the month before, according to the BRC. The FTSE closed down four points at 6,428.

1330: US ADP employment report shows that 198,000 jobs were created in February (Consensus: 170,000). The previous month's numbers have been revised higher, to show a gain of 215,000 (Preliminary: 192,000).

1215: The leader of Italy's Socialists, Bersani, has reportedly indicated that he is not courting Beppe Grillo's movement so as to form a coalition.

1024: BHP Billiton, CRH, Rio Tinto and TUI Travel are all trading lower and near the bottom of the leader board on the Footsie today after going ex-dividend. Also to be taken into account, ministers are to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes along the Australian model with legislation this year.

1010: Hermes has denied having any interest in Mulberry, according to Bloomberg.

0833: UK shares have started the day slightly in the blue, led higher by reports that US wireless outfit Verizon wishes to resolve its relationship with Vodafone this year. Melrose is now in second place on the Footsie following its yearly results. Of interest, there is also some speculation regarding possible buy-out interest swirling around Mulberry. All of the above comes ahead of the release, tonight, of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last rate setting meeting, and tomorrow's ECB and BoE policy meetings. Shop price inflation rose to 1.1 per cent year-on-year in February, from 0.6 per cent in January, according to the British Retail Consortium. No major data or policy speeches are scheduled for today. FTSE 100 up 14 to 6,446.

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