London Stocks finished down on Tuesday, despite rallies from Whitbread and HSBC, as Wall Street was in the red ahead of the Fed's major interest rate decision this week. The FTSE 100 index closed down 2.90 points at 8,144.13. The FTSE 250 ended down 119.40 points, 0.6%, at 19,965.39, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.59 points, 0.3%, at 760.74. The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 813.44, the...

London's FTSE 100 pushed higher on Tuesday afternoon, as its winning streak looks set to continue, though blue-chip benchmarks in Frankfurt and Paris struggled as shares in carmakers went into reverse. The FTSE 100 index was up 47.90 points, 0.6%, at 8,194.93. The FTSE 250 slipped just 2.92 points, to 20,081.87, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.85 of a point, 0.1%, at 764.18. The Cboe UK 100 was...

Premier Inn-owner Whitbread pleased investors with news of an extension to its buyback programme and a new cost-saving initiative as its full-year profit undershot market estimates. After languishing around the £30 level to begin with, the shares slowly climbed 110p or 3.5% to £31.50 by late morning. For the year to the end of February, the group reported revenue of £2.93 billion, an incr...

The world's biggest memory chips and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics (005930:KS) is getting a much-needed lift from the AI (artificial intelligence) demand boom. The South Korean technology giant clocked a 10-fold surge in its first quarter profit, aided chiefly by a recovery in chip demand thanks to the rapidly growing AI industry. Operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won (approximately...

Shares in Card Factory rallied 6% to 106.6p after the value-focused greeting cards-to-party supplies retailer announced a welcome return to the dividend list, having paused payouts during the pandemic. The reinstatement of dividends signalled confidence from Card Factory and alongside a surge in full-year profits driven by a strong trading performance in its stores, made the market sit up and...

Investors in Anglo-Pacific bank HSBC had plenty to cheer as the group posted first-quarter results above expectations and increased the size of its buyback. The shares continued their recent rally, adding another 17p or 2.5% to take them to a new post-pandemic high of 685p. BETTER RESULTS AND BUYBACK For the three months to March, HSBC reported total revenue of $20.8 billion, 3% higher than t...

Equities in London made a bright start to trading, led by lender HSBC, as the recent bullish run continued. Trade was more cautious in mainland Europe, however, ahead of key eurozone data later. The FTSE 100 index rose 26.28 points, 0.3%, at 8,173.31. The FTSE 250 was up 51.07 points, 0.3%, at 20,135.86, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.36 points, 0.2%, at 764.69. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at...

London equities finished in the green on Monday, outpacing its European peers, ahead of the Federal Reserve's eagerly awaited interest rate decision on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 7.20 points, 0.1%, at 8,147.03. The FTSE 250 ended up 260.63 points, 1.3%, at 20,084.79, and the AIM All-Share closed up 8.05 points, 1.1%, at 763.33. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 814.08, the Cboe UK...

Shares in AstraZeneca got a further boost today, rising 2% after posting positive late-stage trial results for breast cancer treatment Enhertu which demonstrated clinically-meaningful progression-free survival improvements. This follows strong market-beating first-quarter results last week (25 April) which sent the shares up 5% to a new 52-week high. Today's gain sees the shares up 13% for th...

Shareholders in Elementis once again expressed dissatisfaction with the specialty chemicals company by writing an open letter to the board calling for change which is 'long overdue.' Liad Meidar, managing partner at Gatemore Capital Management - Gatemore Special Opportunities Fund currently holds over 4 million shares in Elementis - referred to 'the gulf between the fundamental strength of E...

Stock prices in London were up heading into the afternoon on Monday, beating more cautious trade on mainland Europe, as investors shifted focus onto this week's Federal Reserve interest rate decision in the US. The FTSE 100 index rose 40.94 points, 0.5%, at 8,180.77. It had climbed to 8,189.14, its best-ever level. 'The blue-chip index continues to glow and sustain energy that we haven't seen...

Technology tiddler Eagle Eye Solutions has secured a new contract with Tesco for personalised promotions, exciting news which sent shares in the UK SaaS (software-as-a-service) firm up 9% to 510p on Monday. While no financial details were disclosed, house broker Shore Capital believes Eagle Eye's contract win with Britain's biggest retailer, which includes the option to renew for a further y...