- OECD cuts global growth forecasts- German ZEW survey beats expectations- Eyes on FOMC minutes, Plosser comments- Icahn weighs on US stocks, anticipates 'big drop'techMARK 2,645.51 -0.29%FTSE 100 6,688.23 -0.52%FTSE 250 15,245.11 -0.30%UK markets were trading in the red on Tuesday morning as investors shrugged off a better-than-expected reading of German investor confidence and instead reacted to concerns about the global economy.The German ZEW economic sentiment survey, which attempts to predict economic conditions in six months' time, rose from 52.8 to 54.6 this month, ahead of the 54.0 level expected. However, there was little market reaction to the figures this morning as the OECD sparked fears by revising down its global growth forecasts "significantly", blaming a slowdown in emerging markets. It expects the global economy to expand by just 2.7% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2014, compared with previous estimates in May of 3.1% and 4% growth, respectively."Growth since the global crisis has been uneven and hesitant. Job creation has been even more disappointing. Clear and credible strategies are needed for how jobs and growth will be created," said Pier Carlo Padoan, Deputy Secretary-General and Chief Economist of the OECD.Eyes were also beginning to turn to tomorrow's release of the minutes of October's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Although few are still expecting the Fed to begin scaling back quantitative easing this year - especially after Fed Chair nominee Janet Yellen's dovish comments last week - investors will be watching closely for hints of a potential time frame for a 'taper'. Comments from Philadephia Fed President Charles Plosser were in focus this morning after the FOMC voting member called for a fixed dollar amount on the Fed's asset purchase programme, proposing an end to the scheme once that limit is reached. "We cannot continue to play this bond-buying game by ear and risk the Fed's credibility while creating lingering uncertainty about the course of monetary policy," he said.Toby Morris, Senior Sales Trader at CMC Markets, said Plosser's comments were a "timely reminder that whilst a dovish Yellen will wear the captains' armband, she may not have it all her way as the incoming 2014 team looks to have a more hawkish balance than the current crop".US markets finished mixed last night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 briefly topped record intraday levels of 16,000 and 1,800, respectively. Stock futures today are pointing to a flat start when Wall Street opens later on.Anxiety over the recent run on equity markets dampened sentiment on Monday in New York after activist investor Carl Icahn was reported as saying that a "big drop" could be around the corner. According to Reuters, Icahn said he was "very cautious on equities today" given that valuations are rich and earnings are bolstered by low borrowing costs rather than management's efforts to improve results.easyJet flying high as profits surgeBudget airline easyJet surged after boosting annual profits by more than half and saying it is returning £308m to shareholders. easyJet said its allocated seating strategy, website improvements and its Europe by easyJet advertising campaign helped it to boost pre-tax profit in the year to September 30th rose 51% to £478m.Heading the other way was Intertek as the product testing firm said that the industry-wide headwinds experienced in the first half have persisted for longer than expected.Technology business Smiths Group was trading lower as investors were underwhelmed by the company's announcement that it was trading in line with expectations in the first quarter. ITV also failed to impress with third-quarter revenues rising ahead of guidance.Fund manager Aberdeen was in the red, pulling back after a 15% surge on Monday following the announced acquisition of the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group from Lloyds, as well a strong increase in annual profits. Numis downgraded the stock to 'hold' this morning but lifted its target price from 465p to 495p.Meanwhile, Afren, the oil and gas exploration and production company, caused its share price to rocket after reporting that well data indicated the recoverable resources at the Ogo-1 well were "significantly" ahead of pre-drill expectations. FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,349.00p +7.40%Persimmon (PSN) 1,179.00p +1.20%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,631.50p +1.12%Amec (AMEC) 1,180.00p +1.11%Fresnillo (FRES) 923.00p +0.82%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,562.00p +0.66%Sage Group (SGE) 347.90p +0.64%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 348.40p +0.46%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,822.00p +0.43%National Grid (NG.) 777.50p +0.39%FTSE 100 - FallersIntertek Group (ITRK) 3,050.00p -4.12%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,391.00p -2.93%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 477.60p -2.47%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,174.00p -2.17%WPP (WPP) 1,329.00p -1.70%Vedanta Resources (VED) 972.00p -1.67%ITV (ITV) 183.80p -1.61%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,459.00p -1.55%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 75.00p -1.54%Anglo American (AAL) 1,418.00p -1.43%FTSE 250 - RisersAfren (AFR) 160.60p +7.86%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 147.50p +6.88%Keller Group (KLR) 1,057.00p +5.17%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 145.70p +3.70%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 264.80p +3.52%Serco Group (SRP) 430.50p +1.60%Pace (PIC) 311.80p +1.53%Telecity Group (TCY) 670.00p +1.52%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,084.00p +1.47%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,566.00p +1.36%FTSE 250 - FallersLadbrokes (LAD) 172.80p -3.03%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 597.00p -2.85%Hays (HAS) 121.30p -2.65%Synthomer (SYNT) 230.50p -2.54%Greggs (GRG) 435.60p -2.42%Bodycote (BOY) 632.50p -2.39%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 182.00p -2.31%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 243.60p -2.17%RPS Group (RPS) 291.00p -2.12%Lonmin (LMI) 325.60p -2.02%BC
Last checked at 
