Markets Overview: (Source: Bloomberg, FT, Reuters, DJ Newswires)

  UK 100 called to open flat at 6720, still trying to push higher after the Christmas break and following their US counterparts,  but again finding some early resistance – this time around 6730.

 Nonetheless, that makes it positive for December, a decent Santa Rally and a solid footing on which to start the New Year 2014. A long way from where we were just 2 weeks ago.

 Our only concern now is the overextension of said Santa Rally without too much of a pause and the possibility that daily momentum has gone too far (closing in on October highs). Might a 1-2% correction be required to digest those gains?

 This morning European equity futures pointing higher for the sixth consecutive day after US jobless claims fell more than expected yesterday, adding to the recent taper positive data on Christmas eve with US durable goods orders rebounding strongly (especially core and ex-aircraft) and US New Home sales stronger than forecast.

 Asian equities hovering around breakeven during the quiet Christmas/New Year gap despite Japanese retail data growing although this could be attributed to strong demand ahead of the planned ales tax rise. More good news was a bigger rebound in Japanese earnings and inflation rising in-line.

 Other overnight data included continued solid growth in Chinese industrial profits and the country now expects GDP growth of 7.6% in 2013 which will help sentiment for the bulls and those who like their natural resources-linked stocks with the possibility of a stronger than expected Q4.

 In focus today, the data cupboard is bare leading into what should be a quiet weekend.

 Last time we wrote we said the UK 100 looked like it was taking a breather, but it still cracked on. It looks like a similar situation again but on account of think holiday volumes we won’t discount the possibility of a move either way. Sentiment still clearly positive and the UK 100 ’s 2013 underperformance of peers looks like being a driver for a certain element some catch-up even if it is unlikely to beat any of them come the close on 31 Dec.

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UK Company Headlines: (Source: Reuters/DJ Newswires)

AIRLINES: Gatwick airport is facing the threat of having to pay airlines a rebate after thousands of passengers were left stranded by a power outage caused by storms that battered the UK over Christmas, the Financial Times reported.

RETAILERS: After an initial rush to British retail stores for the Boxing Day sales on Thursday, only 0.5 percent more shoppers showed up than last year, final figures from retail data company Springboard showed.

BARCLAYS <BARC.L>: Barclays has been fined $3.75 million by a U.S. regulator over its alleged decade-long failure to properly keep electronic records, emails and instant messages.

DEBENHAMS <DEB.L>: The department store is set to part company with its finance director amid growing criticism of his performance, the Times reported.

BSKYB <BSY.L>: The shares rose on Tuesday, bolstered by growing speculation that mobile phone firm Vodafone <VOD.L> could launch a bid for the satellite TV group to help defend itself against a possible corporate attack from AT&T, according to the Daily Mail’s market report on Thursday.

BP <BP.L>: The company has failed to persuade a federal judge to require businesses seeking to recover money over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to provide proof that their economic losses were caused by the disaster.

ASTRAZENECA <AZN.L>: AstraZeneca and Shionogi have extended the licence for cholesterol treatment Crestor.

INTERTEK <ITRK.L>: The provider of quality and safety solutions has completed its acquisition of Architectural Testing, one of the largest building products testing and certification companies in the United States