Nervous dip buying continues in equities

Uneasy calm sees stocks rise

“While the attacks in the Middle East appeared to intensify overnight, there has been little dramatic rhetoric today, leading to hopes that any renewed conflict can be avoided. But the weekend is not far off, and the US has shown a preference for strikes over a weekend, leading to some caution in markets despite a stronger open for the US. Oil prices have dropped back, adding to a positive feeling across the globe, but a potential second round of full-blown conflict looms large in everyone’s minds.”

AstraZeneca trims losses, helping FTSE 100 

“There hasn’t exactly been an unseemly rush to buy today’s dip in AstraZeneca; the hit to the revenue forecast is too great for that, but the worst of the losses have been trimmed for now. This, together with a positively heroic contribution from the mining sector, has helped the FTSE 100 to claw back most of its opening fall. But such a big stumble from one of the real index heavyweights is the last thing the index needed, putting its quest to 11,000 back even further.”