Market overview: FTSE 100 up 24
Wednesday 17 Mar 2010

1630: Close Despite a dip in the last half hour of trading the Footsie finished the day firmly in the red. British Airways ran into a bit of late turbulence, however, after the airline refused to rule out sacking the main movers behind the planned industrial action by the union Unite. Seven Unite shop stewards are due to appear before British Airways disciplinary committees. Meanwhile, the airline has been cheered by an increase in the number of volunteer strike breakers and said it would now be able to run around 65% of its schedule, up from a week-end estimate of 60%, when the strike takes place. The FTSE 100 was up 24 at 5,645.

1610: Footsie looks set to rise for the second day in succession, helped by a late surge by Autonomy, which has usurped Resolution's position as top performing blue-chip. G4S remains the worst performer on reports that around 10% of the company's shares have been placed in the market at 250p each today. FTSE 100 is up 33 at 5,654.

1455: Insurer Resolution leads the risers in the FTSE 100, but it is miners that dominate the risers. Goldman Sachs issued a research note forecasting a surge in global demand for commodities, which will drive the share prices of mining stocks higher. Fresnillo, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto are among the risers. FTSE 100 up 26 at 5,647.