Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

The FTSE is still in the black for the day despite being hit by a nasty squall in the form of a record low in US housing starts.

The drop in total housing starts has now surpassed slumps from previous recessions in 1991, 1982, 1975 and 1970. The news certainly took equity markets by surprise, but so far stocks and shares have held their early morning gains.

Financials are once again at the forefront of buying interest with HSBC, RBS and Barclays up around 4% on the day.

Barclays so far seems unaffected by reports that the creditors acting on behalf of Lehman Brothers are claiming foul play in the rushed purchase of the former US brokerage unit.

Elsewhere, crude oil briefly surged through the $60 marker only to fall back to a level just below this.

$60 appears to be acting as a resistance level in the short term and it will be interesting to see if traders are able to push crude higher as economic optimism and longer term inflation fears begin to seep back into markets.

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