The FTSE 100 and 250 closed in the red on Friday, as this week's US interest rate cut was offset by a disappointing consumer confidence reading. The FTSE 100 index closed down 98.73 points, or 1.2%, at 8,229.99. The FTSE 250 ended down 330.87 points, or 1.6%, at 20,831.84, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.3%, or 2.46 points, at 745.62. The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.2% at 823.77, the Cboe UK 2...

Stocks in Europe returned some of the prior day's gains on Friday, as sentiment took a knock from gloomy updates from FedEx and Mercedes. The FTSE 100 index was down 40.78 points, 0.5%, at 8,287.94, above early lows. The FTSE 250 slid 199.96 points, 0.9%, at 20,962.75, and the AIM All-Share eased 1.27 points, 0.2%, at 746.81. The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.5% to 829.89, the Cboe UK 250 dipped 1.0% to 1...

Investors often look to logistics giant FedEx (FDX:NYSE) for clues on the state of the US and global economy and the latest health check is not encouraging. The company missed first quarter Wall Street earnings by a wide margin and lowered fiscal 2025 profit guidance, sending its shares down 12% in pre-market trading. The news sent shares in rival United Parcel Service (UPS:NYSE) down 2.4%, whi...

Nike's (NKE:NYSE) shares surged 6.8% higher to $86.5 in after-hours trading on Wall Street after the company announced that veteran Elliott Hill is coming out of retirement to take the reins as chief executive officer. You can see why the mood has been lifted. John Donahoe, who has been in the hot seat since January 2020, will retire on 13 October 2024 after a patchy stint running the iconic A...

Michael Demare, non-executive chair of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) has bought 2,000 shares at £117.93 for a total value of £235,855 on 13 September. Demare's move comes after the pharmaceutical giant's shares recently fell to a one-month low after the UK's largest quoted company released disappointing data from a late-stage clinical trial of its precision lung-cancer drug DatoDxD....