The FTSE 100 is holding flat on Tuesday despite the release of positive retail data.
Retail sales in March jumped 3.2%, beating forecasts of 1.8% and indicating the best improvement for the industry since August last year. However, the data has been able to lift any of the FTSE 100 retailers significantly and instead Ocado is one of the early morning fallers, still shedding value a week after it announced its chair would be leaving.
Insurer Aviva confirmed the completion of its £453 million acquisition of AIG Life in a deal which is expected to improve its standing within the UK protection market.
Meanwhile, HSBC has been exiting markets. It revealed it had departed from Argentina after selling its subsidiary Grupo Financiero Galicia for US$550 million.
In small caps, Pantheon Resources was a top riser on the AIM market after it made a significant upgrade to its resource estimate at its oil field in Alaska.
