London's top-share index battled its way into positive territory at the end of the week.
The FTSE 100 closed at 7,265, up 6 points on the day.
"US President Trump reconsidering his position on TPP - the trans-pacific trade deal - was a welcome bit of internationalism after weeks of protectionist rhetoric. Overall, receding fears of a trade war and military conflict helped a rebound in market sentiment," opined Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group.
"For all the talk of a trade war and escalating tension in Syria, European markets have pulled off a third straight week of gains. One explanation for the market's resilience is some 'Trump Twitter fatigue'. As investors, transparency helps decision-making but it can go too far. It is not just the Russians cheesed off with Trump's Twitter diplomacy; investors are too," Lawler continued.
The Footsie made it back into the blue despite a shocking day for accountancy software giant The Sage Group PLC (LON:SGE), which shed 58.5p to close at 613.5p after cutting revenue guidance.
New post (Sage Group drops most in 24 years over surprise warning) has been published on Sandton24 - Breaking, Latest SA News & Multimedia - https://t.co/hB9TFHhZZS pic.twitter.com/QE9si9ayOP
- Sandton24.com (@sandton24_com) April 13, 2018Top riser on the day was Lionsgold Limited (LON:LION), which rose by just over a third after it made an offer to acquire all of the Goldbloc digital currency.
The company presently owns 55% of TRAC Technology, the developer of Goldbloc, and it has now made a ?1.35mln share-for-share offer to the remaining shareholders.
With under two hours to the close, FTSE 100 is up over 10 points at 7,269 as tensions over Syria and a military strike appear to be calming.
In the US, the Dow Jones added over 147 points at 24,630, the Nasdaq gained over 45 at 6,701 and the S&P 500 added over nine points as traders mull big bank earnings.
On the UK top flight index, Rolls Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR.) shed 1.61% to 867p as the after aircraft engine maker revealed it needed to carry out additional inspections on some versions of its Trent 1000 engines, leading to higher costs than expected in 2018.
Rolls-Royce ups estimate to fix Boeing Dreamliner engines https://t.co/NB7qInhHT4 pic.twitter.com/1G9NpU0g5d
- Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 13 April 2018Budget carrier easyJet (LON: EZJ) shed 2.11% to 1,626p as it too flew lower.
Also, in the news today, President Donald Trump said he may consider joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has bolstered investor sentiment.
It is the same Asia-Pacific trade pact he withdrew from after becoming president.
Jaguar Land Rover underlines problems in the car sector today, by cutting 1,000 temporary jobs and slashed output at two factories, blaming "continuing headwinds".
News reports have named the Castle Bromwich and Solihull sites as being set for production cuts. There are 3,200 people employed at the Castle Bromwich site and a further 10,000 at Solihull.
The group said it was continuing to recruit large numbers of engineers and apprentices and it remained committed to its UK plants.
Earlier this year, the company said it would cut production amid uncertainty over Brexit and changes to taxes on diesel cars.
Closely followed Sirius Minerals PLC (LON: SXX) gained ground in afternoon trade, having fallen yesterday, boosted by the UK mine developer's pitch to bondholders.
Having given up ground on Thursday, considering the pending equity dilution, the London-listed share was up over 2% today, changing hands at 28.60p.
FTSE 100 went into positive territory on Friday around the lunch time mark, up around 11 points at 7,270.
Micro Focus International plc (LON: MRCO) was still the top gainer, up 4.69% to 1,317.50p, still basking after a report on Bloomberg said activist investor, Elliott Management Corp has built up a position.
Also, ahead was engineer GKN (LON: GKN), up 2.82% to 451.80p after Goldman Sachs issued an upbeat note on Melrose Industries, in which the heavyweight investment bank said it was adding the 'buy' rated stock to the 'conviction buy' list.
Melrose's purchase of GKN got the nod from shareholders on March 29.
Among other notable movers was Lionsgold Limited (LON: LION), which advanced over 20% to 2.78p after it made an offer to acquire all the Goldbloc digital currency.
The company currently owns 55% of Goldbloc owner TRAC Technology and it has now made a ?1.35mln share-for-share offer to the remaining shareholders.
It would see the consideration shares paid to TRAC shareholders priced at 2.3271p each, giving the business a valuation of ?3mln.
"The Goldbloc mobile phone banking application is on schedule for release in the UK this quarter. The board considers the full buy-out of TRAC to be strategically and operationally important." it said in a statement.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) shares added 1.35% in pre-market trade in New York as first quarter earnings and revenues beat consensus forecasts.
EPS (earnings per share) was US$2.37 on revenues of US$28.52bn.
"2018 is off to a good start with our businesses performing well across the board, driving strong top-line growth and building on the momentum from last year," chief executive Jamie Dimon said.
US stock futures are mixed ahead of the New York bell as the market gears up for the US bank earning season.
The Dow Jones futures are up 47 points at 24,506, while the Nasdaq futures eased 0.25. The S&P 500 futures are up around five points at 2,669.
FTSE 100 is still in the red at the time of writing, at 7,257 - down 0.91.
Russia may block the supply of titanium to aerospace giant Boeing (LON:BOE, NYSE:BA), according to Russian news agency Ria, it was reported today.
It would be a move to retaliate against the US sanctions imposed on Russia.
Titanium is an important component in Boeing planes - it makes up to 14% of the airframe of the 787 Dreamliner - and Boeing imports vast amounts of the super strong metal.
Boeing shares shed 0.44% after hours in New York but are up 0.09% in London.
FTSE 100 was in the red in early deals as traders were unsure which way to turn as global tensions still dent sentiment.
FTSE 100 is down 5.8 points at 7,252, while FTSE 250 is ahead by nearly 17 at 19,789.
Weighing was Sage Group (LON: SAGE), which shed almost 13%, while top riser was Micro Focus International (LON: MRCO), which added 4.85% to 1,319.5p as shares continue to benefit from reports that activist investor Elliott Investors had taken a stake.
Reportedly, the US fund is "pushing for changes" at the UK software firm.
Hammerson plc (LON: HMSO), which owns shopping centers, shares tanked 12% to 457.30p as its French suitor Klepierre walked away after seeing a latest approach at 635p rebuffed.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould noted: "Hammerson, which owns the Bullring retail complex in Birmingham, is now free to advance its merger with Trafford Centre owner Intu.
"By turning down the bid, management have increased the pressure on themselves to get the tie-up with Intu right."
In small caps, Echo Energy (LON: ECHO) added over 14% to 15.60p as it told investors that it has successfully brought gas to surface following the well workover of a three well programme at the Fracci??n D asset, onshore Argentina.
Also higher was tech group Crimson Tide (LON:TIDE), which added 12.5% to 3.15p, after its full year 2017 report seemed to cheer the market.
Pre-tax profit for the year came in at ?359,000 versus ?352,000 last year on revenue of ?2.28mln, 22% higher than the ?1.86mln seen in 2016.
Connor Campbell, at Spreadex, said: "The FTSE - which had no real need to engage with Thursday's rebound having held steady in the face of market-wide losses on Wednesday - was effectively flat after the bell, the index continuing to lurk around 7,250."
Sterling gained 0.25% against the Euro, and was up 0.33% against the US dollar at the time of writing.
JPMorgan, Citi results may prove whether higher rates pay off https://t.co/JpZCPLhkIP pic.twitter.com/7CY7N6Kzpa
- Bloomberg (@business) 13 April 2018China's trade surplus with the USA expanded by 19.4% in the first quarter versus last year to US$58.25bn, fueling fears in some quarters on trade tensions between the two economic powerhouses.
China's exports into to the US rose 14.8% while imports from the US were up 8.9%.
President Trump reckons his tariff threats will help t starighten out China's bilateral trade surplus with the US, but the People's Republic says it's not afraid of a trade war.
Overall, China's exports last month fell 2.7% compared to a year before. Analysts had pencilled in a rise of about 10%.
The FTSE 100 opened marginally lower as traders took stock after what's been a largely positive, but at times volatile week with index of blue-chip shares falling six points to 7,252.75.
The day's biggest faller, down 15%, was the accounting software specialist Sage (LON:SGE), which sounded the earnings alarm.
Shares Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) were also on offer, though down less than a percentage point, after the investment banking arm of rival HSBC downgraded the high street lender to 'hold' from 'buy'.
Playing catch-up in the mining sector was Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), which was up 1.5%, placing it at the top of the FTSE 100 risers' list.
Not far behind was Tesco (LON:TSCO), which has advanced almost 15% over the last five trading days with investors now buying into the recovery story being told by chief executive Dave Lewis.
There was little change in the share price of the London Stock Exchange Group after it unveiled David Schwimmer as its new chief executive. No, not the Friends actor; this is the 49-year-old Goldman Sachs senior executive. We'll hear what the City has to say about Schwimmer later.
In the meantime, Fleet Street will already be trying to find out just what sort of financial package the new LSE CEO will receive. According to one report, his predecessor Xavier Rolet, who exited in acrimonious circumstances in November, stood to rake in around ?13mln.
ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) said it has seen positive geochemical results and has begun a drilling programme at the Bung Bong gold prospect at its Avoca tenement in Victoria. The AIM-listed gold miner said geochemical results and geological observations at Bung Bong indicated several fault-related quartz and quartz spurs to test as potential high-volume targets for gold mineralisation at the surface.
Echo Energy Plc (LON:ECHO) told investors that it has successfully brought gas to surface following the well workover of a three well programme at the Fracci??n D asset, onshore Argentina. The existing well, tagged CSo-85, perforated a previously untapped gas reservoir which flowed to surface without any further intervention. Gas flows from the reservoir are estimated at 2mln cubic feet per day.
PowerHouse Energy Group PLC (LON:PHE) has received details of the planned roll-out of its hydrogen-from-waste technology from partner Waste2Tricity. Using Powerhouse's DMG-Core system at its heart, Waste2Tricity will target 100 installations in the UK and even more in Europe.
Live Company Group Plc (LON:LVCG) has raised ?350,000 from an existing institutional investor to support its new BRICKLIVE Touring division.
Energy metals group Savannah Resources Plc (LON: SAV) is set for a busy year, as it fast-tracks its Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal into production. "There is an unprecedented rise in demand for energy metals because of the rapid rise of electric vehicles and new forms of energy storage," David Archer, the group's chief executive, told investors in the company's results.
Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) has announced the completion and the full restock and mobilisation of all machinery, spares and supplies for the 2018 field season on its Kun-Manie project in the Far East of Russia.
FTSE 100 is set to kick off a shade lower after Asian shares were mixed, Wall Street posted a strong close ahead of the key bank earnings season, and geopolitical tensions ease for now.
The UK blue chip index closed just 1.2 points up on Thursday and is today called by spreadbetter IG Index to start around four points below that.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones surged 293 points to 24,483, while the S&P 500 gained over 21 to 2,663.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is up 126 at 21,786 with financial stocks and exporters gaining, while China's Shanghai Composite Index is off 12 at 3,167 as new data showed exports fell unexpectedly last month amid tensions with the US. The figure fell 2.7% from a year earlier, the first drop since February last year, while imports grew 14.4%.
Yesterday, President Trump rowed back on the rhetoric of imminent missile strikes on Syria, though as Michael Hewson, at CMC Markets, pointed out, the issue is still very much on the minds of investors.
"It would be na??ve in the extreme to suggest that the events of the last 24 hours mean that the threat of an escalation of geopolitical factors has passed,,,,," he said.
".... but for now while the background noise is driving the short-term direction as markets gyrate higher and lower, recent price action might suggest that we could look to head towards the upper end of the trading range in the coming days, particularly if US earnings come in ahead of expectations, starting today with JP Morgan and Citigroup who enjoyed some decent gains yesterday ahead of their latest numbers later today."
JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) shares added 2.49% yesterday to US$113.37. It is expected to earn US$2.28 per share on US$27.53 billion in revenue.
With UK peers due to start updating the market the week after next, the firm will join Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) to post first-quarter numbers before the New York bell today.
The recent interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve should also assist the banking sector, as a higher rate environment helps lenders to improve margins.
Today may be Friday 13th but there is almost nothing on the UK corporate diary to spook investors, and barely a piece of economic data expected either.
Trading update: XP Power Limited (LON:XPP)
AGM: Low & Bonar PLC (LON: LWB)
Economic data: US consumer sentiment; US JOLTS jobs