After last week?s market spasm over hints from Fed officials that rates may need to rise rather than fall due to the resilience of the US economy, this week the focus moved on to earnings with around one third of S&P 500 companies posting first-quarter updates.So far most firms have beaten estimates, leading to slim gains for the indices, but an increasing number have tempered their guidance for t

Chip stocks are coming under pressure from investors made nervous by hints of weakening demand during the first half of 2024. During the past week or so there have been warnings from industry bellwethers from Europe and the Far East, dampening enthusiasm just as earnings season gets going in earnest.On 22 April Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM:NYSE), or simply TSMC, the world?s bigg

Signs of customer restockingFirst quarter tops forecastsShares up over 7% after-hoursAI (artificial intelligence) has dominated the chip conversation in recent months but from the sounds made by Texas Instruments (TXN:NASDAQ), the industry could be primed for a far more broadly-based demand bounce as the months roll forward.The Dallas-based business is the world?s biggest manufacturer of analog se

Investors in London showed confidence on Monday, as Ocado boosted the FTSE 100 despite shareholder pressure to move its listing to the US, while takeover talks drove Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Tyman in the FTSE 250.Amongst individual stocks, Ocado boosted the FTSE 100 on pressure to move to the US. The FTSE 250 got a boost from takeover talks for both Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Tyman.The FTSE 100 inde

The FTSE 100 was lower on Monday at midday as the oil price declined despite high tensions between Iran and Israel, while the FTSE 250 was a tad higher.The FTSE 100 index was down 33.43 points, 0.4%, at 7,962.15. The FTSE 250 was up 12.21 points, 0.1%, at 19,733.45, and the AIM All-Share was down 4.01 points, 0.5%, at 751.90.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 795.86, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally d

European shares fell on Thursday, with markets grappling with US inflation, Federal Reserve interest rate and geopolitical worries, with the latter hitting travel stocks.Elsewhere among central banks, the European Central Bank left rates unmoved as expected, but the odds of a June cut have risen. The Bank of England is ?way off? cutting, however, a monetary policy committee member said.The FTSE 10

European equities were mixed on Thursday morning, ahead of the European Central Bank?s next interest rate decision this afternoon.The FTSE 100 index opened up 2.10 points at 7,963.31. The FTSE 250 was down 4.02 points at 19,797.73, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.13 points, 0.2%, at 756.32.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 796.00, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17,216.17, and the Cboe Small Companies

Confected or not the recent round of international football fixtures was coloured by outrage over two major kit makers. With Nike (NKE:NYSE) in the firing line thanks to its ?playful? update of the St George?s Cross on the latest England jersey.For its part Adidas (ADS:ETR) was caught up in controversy over Die Mannschaft switching allegiance to its aforementioned US rival, ending a 77-year associ

Adjusted EBITDA ahead of guidanceGrowth trend improved in H2Positive cash flow targeted for 2024Shares in Deliveroo (ROO) rose 2.6% to 117.5p after the takeaway company reported significantly narrowed losses and a welcome uptick in revenues in what the food delivery service dubbed a ?resilient year of growth given macroeconomic conditions?.The London-headquartered firm also flagged an improved sec

Last week?s ECB (European Central Bank) meeting passed pretty much as predicted with no change in any of its three benchmark interest rates despite mounting evidence of an economic slowdown and falling inflation in continental Europe.The news was well received in the bond market, which doesn?t like surprises, and expectations for a cut have been pushed out to June.Beyond that, however, the ECB wil

Stocks in London were in the red at midday on Monday, as investors continued to deal with last week?s sell-off in US tech shares and a ?mixed? jobs report.A favourable inflation reading helped the Shanghai Composite achieve a 0.7% gain to start to the week, despite lingering concern for the Chinese economy. But it was the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo that was badly hit by tech share declines, giving back 2

Stock prices in Europe ended higher on Thursday, with the most convincing gains coming from the blue-chip benchmark in Paris, which topped 8,000 points for the first time.The FTSE 100?s gains were more muted, though it did extend its winning streak to three days.Interest rate optimism helped equities on Thursday. The conviction that the European Central Bank will enact its first of the cycle in Ju

Stock prices in London were a mixed bag at the open on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 lower ahead of the next ECB interest rate decision, despite boosts from Rentokil and Virgin Money UK.The FTSE 100 index opened down 19.49 points, 0.3%, at 7,659.82. The FTSE 250 was up 36.80 points, 0.2%, at 19,510.02, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.14 of a points at 737.77.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 767.12, t

Analysts have been turning increasingly optimistic on Adobe (ADBE:NASDAQ) this year, but you wouldn?t have guessed it by looking at the price. Shares in the Photoshop to Illustrator graphic designs software firm have drifted so far in 2024, partly due to soft revenue guidance issued in December 2023.Some of the most bullish analysts had anticipated as much as $25 billion sales this year (to the en

Equities in London made an underwhelming start to the week, in a sign of investor unease ahead of a key few days on the fiscal and monetary policy fronts.A pre-election budget will be the key event in the UK this week. Eyes will be on whether UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will size up some tax relief. In the eurozone, focus will be on the European Central Bank?s interest rate decision on Thursday. In

Stocks in London were predominantly lower at midday on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of a busy week of monetary policy decisions and economic data.The FTSE 100 index was down 33.74 points, 0.4%, at 7,648.76. The FTSE 250 was down 81.03 points, 0.4%, at 19,273.35, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.12 of a point at 741.43.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 766.27, the Cboe UK 250 was down

Stocks in London were predominantly in the red at Monday?s open, as investors look for signs of cuts to national insurance ahead of the UK Spring budget on Wednesday.The FTSE 100 index opened down 15.31 points, 0.2%, at 7,667.19. The FTSE 250 was down 39.07 points, 0.2%, at 19,315.31, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.16 points, 0.2%, at 742.47.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 768.30, the Cboe UK 250

London?s FTSE 100 ended higher on Friday, but suffered another losing week, as focus turns to some key updates on fiscal policy in the UK and monetary policy in the eurozone.On Wednesday, the UK government delivers its latest budget, expected to be the final one before a general election. On Thursday, the European Central Bank announces its latest interest rate decision.The FTSE 100 index rose 52.

European equities pushed higher on Friday, with Standard Chartered the best-performing London blue-chip, though the FTSE 100?s gains were unable to stave off a weekly loss for it.At the end of the eighth Friday of 2024 so far, London?s large-cap benchmark has only mustered two weekly gains, suffering six losses.The market euphoria following Nvidia?s well-received results suggested a weekly gain wa

Revenue miss and soggy guidanceStock slumps more than 9% after-hoursOnline advertising recovery is splittingSocial media platform Pinterest (PINS:NYSE) lost nearly 10% of its value in after-hours trading overnight as it became the latest in a run of internet stocks that bank on online advertising to spook the market.Pinterest, a sort of visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home