London?s FTSE 100 and its blue-chip peers in Paris and Frankfurt hit record highs on Friday, riding a wave of interest rate optimism, though it was a slightly more cautious start in New York, where stocks traded mixed.The FTSE 100 index closed up 52.41 points, 0.6%, at 8,433.76, after hitting a record high 8,455.77 earlier. The FTSE 250 ended up 114.08 points, 0.6%, at 20,645.38, and the AIM All-S

UK stocks continue to make new highsLower rates and stronger economy fan gainsBest-performing stocks over the last yearUK stocks continue to make new highs buoyed by increasing hopes interest rates will be cut this summer and decreasing worries of economic Armageddon.A dovish tone from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey at this week?s (9 May) interest rate policy meeting and today?s (10 May) s

London stocks were up at midday on Friday, on the back of an interest rate hold from the Bank of England and a better-than-expected gross domestic product reading from the Office for National Statistics.The FTSE 100 index was up 66.70 points, 0.8%, at 8,448.05, after hitting a record high 8,455.77 earlier. The FTSE 250 was up 163.86 points, 0.8%, at 20,695.16, and the AIM All-Share was up 5.05 poi

Investors are feeling more chipper as the week comes towards its close after latest economic data left US markets largely happy with the macro outlook.Crashing recession avoided, interest rate cuts coming - it might not be quite the Goldilocks outcome hoped for but good enough. Thursday?s S&P 500 move higher left the crucial US index to close above the 5,200 level for the first time in a month and

Stocks in London started strong on Friday following the Bank of England?s dovish hold on interest rates on Thursday, as new data showed UK gross domestic product reached a stronger-than-expected level in March.The FTSE 100 index opened up 43.05 points, 0.5%, at 8,424.40. The FTSE 250 was up 68.41 points, 0.3%, at 20,599.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.06 points, 0.3%, at 785.76.The Cboe UK 100

Stock prices in London edged down at the open on Thursday, while investors expect the Bank of England to keep its benchmark bank rate unchanged.The FTSE 100 index opened down just 2.68 points at 8,351.37. The FTSE 250 was down 10.32 points, 0.1%, at 20,481.67, while the AIM All-Share was up 1.41 points, 0.2%, at 781.24.The Cboe UK 100 was marginally up at 833.97, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17,

On 14 May, the world?s largest home-improvement retailer Home Depot (HD:NYSE) is set to release its first-quarter earnings. The firm, which has a market value of over $330 billion and operates more than 2,300 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico, is expected to report EPS (earnings per share) of $3.60 on revenue of $36.65 billion.While this will be a step up from the previous quarter, it represents

The journey of online clothing retailer ASOS (ASC) on the stock market has been a pretty extraordinary one. It started life as a penny stock on AIM ? when Shares first covered the story in 2003 it traded at 4.5p.Within a little less than five years the share price had reached more than £4, by 2014 it had hit £70 and, after another retreat, at its 2018 height it traded close to £80. Even its pan

Morgan Sindall (MGNS)Price: £23.52Market Cap: £1.09 billionInfrastructure, affordable housing and urban regeneration group Morgan Sindall (MGNS) is a good example of a UK stock with an attractive growth rate selling at a discount not only to the market but also relative to its own history. The group?s construction arm is expert in physical infrastructure and complex regeneration projects, while

The last couple of years have seen outsized returns for stocks, especially those in the US, but that doesn?t mean now is a bad time to invest. The truth is there is never a bad time to invest as long as you are looking to stay invested for the long term.From its inception in 1984 to 2022, the FTSE 100 index has gained around 5.5% per year in price terms and 7.5% per year in terms of total return,

Full-year results low-endMargins seen improvingPositive trends in core brandsOnline fast fashion seller Boohoo?s (BOO:AIM) adjusted pre-tax losses widened by 30% to £31 million in the year to February 2024 as sales continued to plunge amid weak consumer demand and cut-throat competition.The Manchester-based clothing and beauty purveyor also reported a 7% drop in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before i

Third quarter sales up 5.2%Full year profit seen top endUpgrades to earnings estimatesThe post-pandemic recovery at JD Wetherspoon (JDW) continues at pace after the pub group delivered another period of strong like-for-like sales growth and said full-year profit was expected to come in at the top end of market expectations.The news sent the shares 3% higher to 748.6p, meaning they are roughly flat

Weaker oil and gas prices weigh$1.75 billion buyback maintained$2 billion-plus cost-saving targetShares in BP (BP.) fell 0.75% to 506.6p in a rising market after the energy producer?s first-quarter results missed expectations with weaker oil and gas prices and an unplanned US refinery outage curbing profits.However, the FTSE 100 energy titan?s shareholder-friendly focus helped limit the price dama

Vistry CEO shows confidence with latest buyTracsis director snaps up over £33,000 sharesChurchill China director sells up after flat full year revenuesVISTRY CEO BUYS OVER 23,000 SHARESGreg Fitzgerald, CEO of UK housebuilder Vistry (VTY) has bought 23,172 shares at £11.80 for a total value of £273,545.46 on 29 April.Fitzgerald?s move can be seen as a vote of confidence in the housebuilder after

With around 40% of S&P 500 constituents reporting earnings last week including heavyweights Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) and Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ), the micro picture was widely expected to be the main investor focus.As things turned out, a surprisingly weak first quarter GDP (gross domestic product) print and higher-than-anticipated March inflation gave investors and the Federal Reserve further pause

Just when investors think they have got the measure of Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ), Elon Musk drops a bomb. Having feared the worst, Tesla?s first quarter (Q1) 2024 report (25 April) gave investors the clarity they were seeking on mass-market vehicles, and while detail remains thin, Musk said production would likely begin ?in early 2025, if not later this year? and would include ?more affordable models.?T

In the last few weeks, the drumbeat of companies complaining about the lowly valuation of their shares and floating the idea of moving to the US market has grown steadily louder.First there was miner Glencore (GLEN), then oil major Shell (SHEL) started making noises and most recently online retailer Ocado (OCDO) has come under shareholder pressure to move its listing.What is significant is these a

Stock prices in London were slightly down heading into the afternoon on Wednesday, as investors awaited the latest interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve this evening.The FTSE 100 index slipped just 1.15 points to 8,142.98. The FTSE 250 was down 35.58 points, 0.2%, at 19,929.81, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.07 points, 0.4%, at 763.81.The Cboe UK 100 was flat at 813.38, the Cboe UK 25

Operating margins hit double-digits for first time on recordMuch better cash flow ensures AI investment is fundedDividends still seem a long way offAmazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) became the latest tech giant to release quarterly results after-hours Tuesday (30 Apr) and largely beat expectations as interest in AI (artificial intelligence) helped drive cloud computing growth.These were robust results, showing

Full-price sales up 5.7%Full-year guidance unchangedFirm outperforming the marketHigh-street retailer Next (NXT) beat expectations with its first-quarter trading update but tempered its outlook for the second quarter so as to leave its full-year guidance unchanged.Traders took the opportunity to top-slice the shares, which have gained over 12% this year, sending them lower by 72p or 0.8%. O