The mood was dampened in the afternoon after the release of the ISM manufacturing index, which showed that the US manufacturing sector contracted in March for the fifth straight month, and came in below expectations at 46.3.

The FTSE 100 was up for a seventh consecutive session today, inching up 0.1% at 9.30 am. Wealth manager Rathbones Group rose 2.3% after it said it will acquire the UK wealth business of Investec in a £839 million deal.

Meanwhile, OKYO Pharma dropped about 15% after it unveiled its plan to delist from the London Stock Exchange next month, due to low volumes of trading and weak valuations.

 

Things to read today: 

Oil price: new unimproved Opec+ helps US shale drillers (Financial Times)

Shadow banks could yet cause trouble (Financial Times)

Macron Heads to China Seeking Major Ukraine Shift. Here’s What to Watch. (Bloomberg)