FTSE indices were all in green, taking a lead from a green trading session in Asia. The FTSE 100 was up almost 100 points higher intraday (+1.57%) as miners pushed the index higher.

Ladbrokes traded +6.44% at the time of writing after an expected antitrust ruling from the CMA was not as harsh as expected. This related to the merger with Gala Coral, and the pairing’s presence on the high street.  The stock rallied after the announcement, as many expected beforehand that up to 1000 shops would have to be axed as part of the merger, but the ruling hinted only 350-400 will have to be shut down.

GBP/EUR sank from 1.303 at the open to 1.2977, paring back a little of the gains seen in the last 48 hours. Similarly we saw GBP/USD trade come off, slightly diminishing strength seen since the start of the week. This weakness was primed by the chance of an earlier than expected US rate rise.

The eurozone current account surplus widened in the March-February period, recording a surplus of  €27.3bn for March, up from a slightly upwardly revised €19.2bn in February. Trends that have manifested themselves earlier in the data continue to be present, as goods, services and primary income showed surpluses, which were partly offset by a deficit in secondary income. In the 12 months to March, the accumulated current account surplus represented 3.1% of eurozone GDP, compared with 2.7% in the comparative earlier period.

Oil prices continues to rally on the back of disruption to supplies, formerly those emanating from Nigeria and Libya, and more recently disruptions have come to the fore due to the spreading wildfires in Canada taking some oil fields out of commission. Analysts estimate that up to 1.4 million barrels per day of production may be affected due to the fires.

At the close European indices were up with the FTSE 100 +1.70%, with the CAC 40 +1.67%, and the DAX 30 +1.23%.