2.15pm update: Wall Street to open with share prices jumping

Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on Wednesday as a slew of positive earnings updates and hopes for a dovish tone from the Federal Reserve overshadowed concerns about next steps for the US government's coronavirus support plan.

General Motors Co rose 4.6% premarket after posting a smaller-than-expected loss for the second quarter, helped by pickup truck sales and aggressive cost-cutting.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc jumped 11% after the chipmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast, driven in part by an overall surge in chip demand and market-share gains from larger rival Intel Corp.

Of the 163 S&P 500 firms that have reported results, 79.1% have surpassed a low bar of quarterly profit expectations, according to Refinitiv IBES data, well above the average of 59% of companies beating profit estimates over the past four quarters.

1.45pm update: The FTSE-100 index is up 11.74 at 6141.00

1.30pm: Eurozone yields rise but remain near two-month lows

Eurozone government bond yields edged up before a US Federal Reserve meeting later today, but remained within touching distance of two-month lows as a variety of negative headlines hurt market sentiment.

Poor corporate earnings, record deaths from COVID-19 in six US states and frictions over a stimulus plan in the United States have hit risk sentiment this week and had investors retreating to safe assets such as government bonds.

Fears of rising COVID-19 infections also hit Asia and Europe this week, with several countries imposing new restrictions and Britain quarantining travellers from Spain.

Analysts at DZ Bank wrote in a note: “The tally of COVID-19 cases is surging further, not only in the US, with infection rates rising again in Europe as well during the holiday period, maybe due to a certain excessive carefreeness.

"Meanwhile, the consensus over a second coronavirus relief package which could be used to alleviate a second wave of the pandemic is tottering, thus spawning growing concerns about the outlook for the US economy."

1pm update: Germany to introduce mandatory coronavirus tests for travellers next week

New rules for mandatory coronavirus tests for travellers entering Germany from countries designated as risk areas are due to come into effect next week, a spokeswoman for the country's health ministry said.

This latest measure comes after Germany announced plans for free, mandatory coronavirus tests for holidaymakers returning from high-risk countries in order to slow the spread of infections as the holiday season kicks into high gear.

12.45pm update: The FTSE-100 index si up 7.30 at 6136.56

12.20pm update: Expert reacts to markets

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, reacted to the “wobbly” markets.

He said: "Global stock markets appear to be starting to get a little wobbly as the latest earnings numbers start to paint a picture of a global economy that could start to face a challenging time in the weeks and months ahead.

"The resurgence of coronavirus cases starting to get reported across the world is prompting the realisation that hopes of a V-shaped recovery are starting to look like pie in the sky."

12.05pm update: European shares edge higher

European shares rose on Wednesday, but a resurgence of COVID-19 cases kept investors cautious. Investors also awaited news from the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was flat at 1007 GMT, while mixed corporate earnings sent MSCI's main European Index down by a quarter of a point.

Europe's STOXX 600 was up 0.1%, Germany's DAX was down 0.1% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.7%.

Spanish bank Santander reported a record second-quarter loss while Germany's Deutsche Bank gave a slightly improved outlook.

11.25am update: Mortgage lending bounces back after record low

Mortgage lending bounced back last month after hitting a record low in May.

Bank of England figures show mortgage approvals increased to 40,010 in June from 9,300 the previous month.

The central bank's monthly money and credit report said: "The mortgage market showed some signs of recovery in June but remained relatively weak in comparison to pre-COVID.”

11am update: Mixed bag for EU markets

It's a mixed back in Europe today, with Euronext 100 and CAC 40 enjoying bright starts and DAX and Swiss Market Index losing ground.

Euronext is up 0.36%, CAC 0.68%, while DAX is down 0.16% and Swiss Market 0.15%.

8:45am update: Rollercoaster morning for FTSE

After a bright start, the FTSE plunged this morning, wiping out early games.

After hitting a high of 6,142 this morning, the index quickly dropped to 6,120 at 8:30am.

It's since risen, however, and is currently sitting pretty on 6,139 - a gain on the day.

8.10am update: FTSE opens with a bang

FTSE has soared on open this morning, despite Boris Johnson's warnings of a second coronavirus wave.

The index closed on 6,129 but has already risen to 6,142 just minutes after opening.

6.27am update: India's gloomy outlook darkens as recovery path in doubt

The outlook for India’s reeling economy has worsened again as business activity slows and COVID-19 infections soar, and will probably prompt the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates again soon, a Reuters poll of economists has said.

The Indian economy is now likely to contract this quarter and next and in this fiscal year as a whole, according to the July 20-28 poll of nearly 60 economists. Growth had been expected for all of those periods except the second quarter in the previous poll, taken in April.

“India’s failure to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and the government’s underwhelming support package for firms and households, means the economy will suffer its largest drop in output on record this year,” said Darren Aw, Asia economist at Capital Economics in Singapore.

In the quarter just gone by, the Indian economy is forecast to have shrunk 20.0 percent - the first double-digit contraction since official quarterly data started being released in the mid-1990s. It will then contract 6.0 percent and 0.3 percent in the current and following quarters, respectively, according to the poll.