Risk sentiment was supported by a series of strong first-half earnings from Chinese companies as Beijing ramped up plans to revive the economy savaged by the COVID-19 crisis. Electronic components maker Goertek Inc neared a record high while Focus Media Information surged by the 10% daily trading limit after both companies posted strong earnings for the first half. Market participants were also watching out for developments on trade talks between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration on Thursday declined to acknowledge any plans to meet with China over the Phase 1 trade deal after the commerce ministry in Beijing said bilateral talks would be held “in the coming days” to evaluate the agreement’s progress.

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4.20pm update: Ryanair to cut significantly fewer jobs after pay deals

Ryanair plans to cut significantly fewer jobs than the 3,000 it originally estimated, after 97 percent of pilots and over 90 percent of cabin crew have signed up so far to pay cuts and work practice changes, its director of operations said on Friday.

The budget airline had warned it would have to cut one in five of its pilots and cabin crew if they did not agree to pay cuts of up to 20 percent.

Ryanair like many of it competitors has struggled following drastic drops in passenger numbers on its planes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Irish airline struck a pay deal with Spanish pilots on Thursday, leaving agreements outstanding with pilots in Belgium and cabin crew in Italy and Germany.

Neal McMahon told Reuters in a telephone interview: “We haven't finalised the number yet, we originally said there was going to be 3,000 redundancies but we have been able to reduce that significantly.

"Broadly speaking they (pilots and cabin crew) recognise the grim situation we are in and they have been pragmatic."

3.45pm update: FTSE 100 see more recovery after earlier 50pt drop

The FTSE-100 index at 3.45pm was down 16.19 at 5997.15.

3pm update: US banking and financial services giant Wells Fargo resumes job cuts

Wells Fargo & Co resumed job cuts has resumed slashing job after it paused layoffs in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lender said in July it would launch a broad cost-cutting initiative this year as the bank braces for massive loan losses caused by the pandemic and continues to work through expensive regulatory and operational problems tied to a long-running sales scandal.

Back in July the US financial services giant revealed they would be launching a broad cost-cutting initiative this year.

This would inlcude layoffs, branch closures and cuts to third-party spending, the bank's executives at the time .

A spokeswoman for the company said in an email: “We expect to reduce the size of our workforce through a combination of attrition, the elimination of open roles, and job displacements.”

She added Wells Fargo was hoping to create a company that is more "nimble" in current times.

2.45pm update: FTSE 100 recovers slighlty

The FTSE-100 index at 2.45pm was down 31.35 at 5981.99.

2pm update: Erdogan announces historic Turkish gas find in Black Sea

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had discovered its biggest ever natural gas field holding 320 billion cubic metres (11.3 trillion cubic feet) in the Black Sea.

The Turkish President also shared his hopes that the nation will become a net energy exporter.

He said: "This reserve is actually part of a much bigger source. God willing, much more will come.

“As a country that depended on the outside for gas for years, we look to the future with more security now.

“There will be no stopping until we become a net exporter in energy."

Any reduction in Turkey's energy import bill, which stood at $41billion last year, would boost government finances and help ease the nation’s chronic deficit.

The lira has been facing record lows against the dollar and despite the big announcement the Turkish currency slid down 0.4% at 1.47pm BST.

1.45pm update: FTSE plunges further in the red

The FTSE-100 index at 1.45pm was down 50.42 at 5962.92.

12.20pm update: US stock index futures tick lower ahead of markets opening

US stocks finished higher on Thursday as investors bet on tech heavyweights including Apple Inc and Amazon.com riding out the pandemic amid wobbly economic recovery.

However US stock index futures have ticked lower today as investors await business surveys for more clues on the economy's health.

Surveys from the eurozone showed an economic recovery from its deepest downturn on record has stuttered this month, setting up a downbeat tone for IHS Markit's surveys of the US manufacturing and services sectors due later in the day.

Investors are also worried about a stalemate in talks between House Democrats and the White House over the next coronavirus aid bill as about 28 million Americans continued to collect unemployment cheques.

At 6.35am (11.35am) ET, Dow e-minis were down 19 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 3.25 points, or 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 10 points, or 0.09%.

11.45am update: FTSE drops into the red

The FTSE-100 index at 11.45am was down 5.54 at 6007.80.

11.25am update: Sterling steady against euro but falls vs dollar

The British pound lost early strength versus the euro on Friday and fell against the rising US dollar.

It was influenced by a a mix of Brexit worries and better-than-expected British economic data injected some volatility in the currency.

11.15am update: Furloughed workers falls sharply

The number of furloughed workers fell by a quarter between May and June.

But, the Government's scheme is still supporting millions of employees, according to a new study.

The Resolution Foundation said the number of furloughed workers peaked at 8.9 million in early May, falling to 6.8 million by the end of June.

10.50am update: FTSE up

The FTSE-100 index at 10:45am was up 6.55 at 6019.89.

10.45am update: Eurozone economic recovery falters in August

The eurozone's recovery from its deepest economic downturn on record hit the brakes in August.

"The fall back in the eurozone composite PMI in August suggests the initial V-shaped rebound following the lifting of the lockdowns is already fizzling out," said Jessica Hinds at Capital Economics.

Germany and France, the EU's two biggest economies, also lost economic momentum this month, as a result of the services slowdown.

9.50am update: UK retail sales surge past pre-COVID peak in July

British retail sales surged past their pre-coronavirus level in July.

Retail sales volumes rose by 3.6 percent from June - above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists - and were 1.4 percent higher than in July 2019, the Office for National Statistics said.

That represented a sharp recovery from double-digit falls in April and May.

9.15am update: FTSE down 15.21

The FTSE-100 index at 9:15am was down 15.21 at 5998.13.

8.25am update: UK retail sales surge past the peak before COVID

British retail sales surged past their pre-coronavirus level in July, the first full month that shops selling non-essential goods were open since the country went into lockdown in March.

Separate government borrowing data showed public debt rose above 2 trillion pounds ($2.65 trillion) in July for the first time and reached 100.5% of gross domestic product - its highest as a share of GDP since 1961.

The unexpectedly robust retail sales figures showed the strength of consumer demand even as other parts of the economy are struggling to recover from recent hefty losses.

Retail sales volumes rose by 3.6 percent from June - above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists - and were 1.4 percent higher than in July 2019, the Office for National Statistics said.

That represented a sharp recovery from double-digit falls in April and May.

Compared with February, before Britain was broadly affected by the pandemic, sales were 3.0 percent higher.

Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, said: “This uptick in retail consumption may help ease concerns over the fragility of the UK economy - but not for long.”

7.30am update: UK borrowing hits record level

Borrowing has now breached £150bn in the current financial year - a staggering £128.4bn more than between April and July last year.

It is the highest April-July total since records began in 1993.

The UK's public debt is now at £2 trillion - its highest point ever. 

Check back again soon for more updates...