8.15am: FTSE 100 inches higher at open
The FTSE 100 has opened 13 points higher at 8,811.78, with defensive stocks to the fore.
Leading the risers are defence & aerospace sector names, including Babcock, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, along with gold miners and tobacco companies.
British Gas owner Centrica, asset manager Intermediate Capital Group and credit checker Experian are bottom of the list.
7.59am: UK GDP confirmed
UK economic growth for the first quarter is estimated to have grown by 0.7%, unrevised from the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics.
Economists said some cracks were starting to emerge, which means growth is likely to have slowed in the second quarter.
“While overall quarterly growth was unrevised, our updated set of figures show the economy still grew strongly in February, with growth now coming in a little higher in March too,” says ONS director of economic statistics Liz…
