UK stocks plunged into the close on Monday, but the FTSE 100 still recorded its biggest monthly gain in over three decades as investors bet on a working Covid-19 vaccine to speed up an economic recovery next year. While there was limited company news to propel the markets, investors continued to weigh optimism about potential Covid-19 vaccines against fears of a more severe economic fallout ...

Shares in FTSE 250 gold and silver miner Hochschild Mining (HOC) gained 2.5% to 218p despite the South America-focused company having to close one of its mines due to a significant rise in Covid-19 infections in the area. Hochschild said that a significant increase in Covid-19 infections in the Santa Cruz province in Argentina has resulted in a temporary lockdown of various mines. Its San ...

UK stocks continued to inch higher at lunchtime on Monday, with the FTSE 100 on track for its best month in more than 30 years, having rallied 14% so far in November. While there was limited company news to propel the markets, investors continued to weigh optimism about potential Covid-19 vaccines against fears of a more severe economic fallout from the pandemic as virus cases continued to ...

Shares in food intolerance and infectious disease diagnostics company Omega Diagnostics (ODX:AIM) gained 6% to 49.25p after signalling early signs of a second half recovery. TRACTION IN CHINA Omega received approval in November from the Chinese regulator for its self-testing food intolerance product Food Detective, and encouragingly the company noted a 12% increase in sales during October ...

In a surprise move, Britain’s biggest high-street lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) announced it had picked relative outsider Charlie Nunn to take over from outgoing chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio next year. Back in July the bank announced Horta-Osorio’s decision to depart next June, after 10 years in the top job, along with a change of chairman as the former head of UK Financial ...

Conveyancing platform provider ULS Technology (ULS:AIM) surged 18.1% to 71.8p after it announced the £27.3 million sale of its Conveyancing Alliance comparison site. The market is encouraged by news of the sale of an apparently non-core asset for cash at an attractive price – which, as broker Numis noted, represented 63% of the pre-deal enterprise value of the group as a whole. The ...

London’s FTSE 100 edged 0.28% higher to 6,385.65 early on Monday morning as investors weighed optimism about a potential Covid-19 vaccine against fears of a more severe economic fallout from the pandemic as virus cases continue to rise. Investors continued to worry about a potential no-deal Brexit as the 31 December end to the transition period nears, with few signs of a trade deal being ...

The UK’s leading shares continued to drift lower at lunchtime on Friday as investors mull new sweeping stiff restrictions that will see limited opportunities for thousands of businesses across Britain to re-open for business. The Brexit negotiations saga also sapped enthusiasm, with talks between the UK and European Union set to resume. At midday, the benchmark FTSE 100 was off 0.33% at ...

The Schroder British Opportunities investment trust is set to launch on 1 December after it managed to raise the minimum £75 million it needed from investors ahead of its IPO. Net proceeds are expected to be £73.5 million, equivalent to a net asset value (NAV) of 98p per share, but the figure is well below the £250 million the trust had hoped to raise. It comes after two other investment ...

Remote audio meetings company LoopUp (LOOP:AIM) has seen its share price slashed by 43% after issuing a profit warning. Customer churn has spiked as already intense competition gets even hotter. That’s a stock discount that matches the Black Friday theme but one that will leave shareholders feeling lost. The share price has collapsed from 155p to 88.5p, meaning that the stock has lost ...