FTSE 100 rouses itself in the afternoon hours; Wall Street eagerly picks up the

• FTSE 100 up 34 points
• Bitcoin bounces back
• US stocks higher

5.05pm: Positive day for tech

London’s leading index ended Monday up 34 points, 0.5%, at 7,052, while the FTSE 250 added 84 points, 0.4%, to close at 22,484.

“Stocks have resumed their march higher it seems, adding to the gains made in the second half of last week as inflation concerns appear to recede,” IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote. “Risk assets are moving higher on a broad front, with almost all major indices in positive territory and oil prices marching upwards as well.”

Meanwhile, in the US, the Dow was up 185 points, 0.5%, to 34,393 at midday. The Nasdaq gained 208 points, 1.6%, to 13,679, and the S&P 500 increased 44 points, 1%, to 4,200.

“Tech stocks have rediscovered some of their momentum today, and with recent positioning data pointing to a notable surge in outflows, it seems that sentiment has been sufficiently reset on the sector to allow a new leg higher to begin,” Beauchamp wrote.

London’s leading shares are firmer on balance, but equities are definitely being overshadowed by the shenanigans in the cryptocurrency markets.

The FTSE 100 was up 14 points (0.2%) entering the last hour of trading.

“Elon Musk has contributed to the turbulence with his enthusiasm for bitcoin changing by the week, if not the day; however, it was the regulators who were mainly to blame for the plunge. The authorities in China warned against using bitcoin for payments and launched a crackdown on bitcoin mining. There was also tougher talk from the US,” said Rupert Thompson, the chief investment officer at Kingswood, the asset management firm, in his weekly summary of the markets.

“We do not hold bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency, in our client portfolios and have no intention of doing so for the foreseeable future. Their excessively high volatility rules them out for now, regardless of their longer-term potential,” Thompson said.

3.40pm: IPO flurry 

Back in the UK, the market for new issues remained buoyant as two smaller companies made their stock market bow on Monday. Digital advertising specialist () raced to a 14% first-day premium, while the gain was a more modest 2% for wholesaler Kitwave (LON:KITW). Dianomi’s placing raised £5mln of new money and £32mln for selling investors, with the business commanding an initial valuation of £82mln. Tyneside-based Kitwave, meanwhile, brought in £64mln of new cash (on a valuation of £105mln), which will be used to fund the firm’s acquisition strategy.

10am: Proactive North America headlines:

Roth Capital ups target price for Silvercorp Metals () (NYSEAMERICAN:SVM) (FRA:S9Y), to $9.00, reiterates ‘Buy’ rating following recent Q4 results

BioLargo Inc () strengthens balance sheet by eliminating nearly all of its convertible debt

Esports Entertainment Group Inc () (FRA:40Y1) says New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement formally accepts subsidiary GMBL’s gaming license application

Dalrada Corporation () taps Captain David Bacon to its board as it advances its health product lines

2.40pm: Wall Street opens in the green

The main indices on Wall Street have made a positive start to the week by moving into the green in early deals.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49% at 34,376 while the S&P 500 jumped 0.67% to 4,183 and the Nasdaq rose 0.77% to 13,574.

Also in positive territory was cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which despite heavy losses over the weekend had bounced back on Monday and was up 16.2% in the last 24 hours at US$38,136.

Back in London, the FTSE 100 was more or less flat into late afternoon at 7,019.

2.10pm: FTSE 100 sees morning’s gains dissipate

The morning’s gains mostly disappeared over the lunchtime session.

The FTSE 100 was up 7 points (0.1%) at 7,025, despite some investors taking a punt on gambling stocks such as () and (). The former is up 2.0% at 1,611p and is the top blue-chip riser…