European equities are having a 'largely positive' session on Wednesday, but the FTSE 100 stuck out a like a sore thumb, with some of its more defensive stocks in the red. The FTSE 100 index fell 18.05 points, 0.2%, at 8,341.36. The FTSE 250 added 31.42 points, 0.2%, at 20,924.16, and the AIM All-Share rose 0.75 of a point, 0.1%, at 735.84. The Cboe UK 100 lost 0.4% at 837.01, the Cboe UK 250 wa...

Outside of a handful of obvious candidates - Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ), for example - AI hasn't yet really woken the growth beast for applications firms, but that could be changing at Salesforce (CRM:NYSE). The customer relationship management gorilla talked up the impact of its new autonomous AI agent for business customers AgentForce as it unveiled third-quarter results which topped estimates a...

Shares in British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) were marginally higher in morning trading after the company announced the extension of its four AGR (operational Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor) nuclear power stations alongside partner, EDF. Chris O'Shea, CEO of Centrica said: 'Today's extensions to the lives of the zero carbon Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hartlepool and Torness nuclear power stations are a pos...

Veteran fund manager Nick Train, manager of the well-followed Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT), insisted he is more enthused by the company's prospects than at 'any time this century', despite the company reporting a fourth consecutive year of underperformance versus the benchmark. Chairman Simon Hayes conceded that while the FTSE 250 company's long-term track record remains impressive, thi...

Instant equipment firm ME Group International (MEGP) said it expected another to book another record year of profitability after revealing revenue growth of approximately 7% excluding currency impacts and pre-tax profit up by a tenth for the 12-months to 31 October. The shares fell 1.25% to 223p on profit-taking after a strong run which has seen the shares gain 71% so far in 2024, handsomely be...

The FTSE 100 opened in the red on Wednesday, outperformed by European peers, with the CAC 40 in Paris shaking off political uncertainty. The FTSE 100 index fell 18.05 points, 0.2%, at 8,341.36. The FTSE 250 added 31.42 points, 0.2%, at 20,924.16, and the AIM All-Share rose 0.75 of a point, 0.1%, at 735.84. The Cboe UK 100 lost 0.3% at 838.05, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 18,423.95, and the Cb...

FTSE 100 mining stocks were boosted on Tuesday amid reports of Chinese economic strategy talks while a host of FTSE 250 constituents saw double-digit share price rises after well-received earnings. The FTSE 100 index rose 46.52 points, 0.6%, at 8,359.41. The FTSE 250 ended 123.69 points higher, 0.6%, at 20,892.74, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.05 points, 0.3%, at 735.09. The Cboe UK 100 ended up...

European equities were higher heading into Tuesday afternoon, boosted by hope that China's top leaders will meet to set out lofty economic aims and discuss stimulus measures for next year. The FTSE 100 index rose 58.76 points, 0.7%, at 8,371.65. The FTSE 250 added 125.89 points, 0.6%, at 20,894.94, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.10 points, 0.3%, at 735.14. The Cboe UK 100 added 0.8% at 840.75, t...

Investors raised a glass to Marston's (MARS) on Tuesday, pushing the shares up 3.3p or nearly 9% after the pubs group served up a big jump in full-year profit and said positive momentum has continued with Christmas bookings tracking ahead of the prior year. The shares are up around 40% over the last year, comfortably outperforming peers whose shares are down between 6% and 10% over the same per...

Shares in On The Beach (OTB) jumped 15% to 197p in morning trading after the online package holiday provider reported record bookings, rising profits, a share buyback scheme, and the return of its dividend. 'Winter 2024 volumes are up 25% year on year, as customers seek winter sun or a European city break, and we anticipate Summer 2025 to be significantly ahead of 2024, with bookings to date s...

Blue-chips in Europe opened in the green on Tuesday, with French stocks casting aside political uncertainty for now, and strong earnings boosted London-listed mid-caps. The FTSE 100 index rose 48.97 points, 0.6%, at 8,361.86. The FTSE 250 added 103.70 points, 0.5%, at 20,872.75, and the AIM All-Share rose 2.54 point, 0.4%, at 735.58. The Cboe UK 100 added 0.7% at 840.00, the Cboe UK 250 was up...

London stocks started the week mixed ahead of a 'pivotal' US jobs report on Friday, and after data showed the UK manufacturing sector enduring a sharper decline than expected last month. The FTSE 100 index rose 25.59 points, 0.3%, at 8,312.89. The FTSE 250 ended 2.52 points lower at 20,769.05, and the AIM All-Share rose 0.55 of a point, 0.1%, at 733.04. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.2% at 834.02,...

Henry Angest, chairman and chief executive of banking group Arbuthnot (ARBB:AIM), bought 116,000 shares at 900p for a total value of £1.04 million on 25 November. Angest now holds 9,392,185 ordinary shares representing 58.03% of the company's voting rights. The banking group recently reported solid third-quarter growth with customer deposits rising from £3.8 billion up from £3.5 billion a ye...