Stocks in London and Europe on Thursday failed to share in Wall Street's Wednesday triumph, with easyJet and Sage dragging down the FTSE 100 despite a rally at BT. The FTSE 100 index was down 23.84 points, 0.3%, at 8,421.96. The FTSE 250 was down 13.91 points, 0.1%, at 20,761.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 792.59. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 841.60, the Cboe UK...

Shares in EasyJet were down more than 5% to 498p as investors reacted to the announcement that the low-budget airline's CEO Johan Lundgren is stepping down after seven years in the role. Kenton Jarvis, board member and chief financial officer will takeover from Lundgren as CEO. Jarvis joined EasyJet in February 2021 and will continue in his current role during the succession period. The compa...

Watches of Switzerland's shares surged 11% to 374.5p on a reassuring fourth-quarter update in which chief executive Brian Duffy said the high-end watch and jewellery retailer entered the new financial year with 'cautious optimism'. This followed a strong finish to the year to 28 April 2024, with fourth-quarter sales proving more resilient than feared in both the UK and US amid robust demand f...

Looking purely at third quarter (to 27 Apr) numbers paints a bleak picture for the core IT kit that Cisco Systems (CSCO:NASDAQ) provides. Adjusted EPS (earnings per share) was down from $1.00 a year ago to $0.88 on a 13% fall in $12.7 billion revenue, the firm's biggest annual decline in 15 years, according to CNBC. So, as pre-market data sees the stock rallying nearly 5% when US markets reope...

Shares in Convatec fell 4% to 255.7p after the medical products maker flagged short-term uncertainty in Advanced Wound Care leading to a softer outlook for the division. The news took the shine off a strong start to the year with first-quarter organic revenue up 6.5% which was slightly ahead of market forecasts. SHORT-TERM UNCERTAINTY Convatec reduced the growth outlook for Advanced Wound Car...

The FTSE 100 started poorly on Thursday, despite Wednesday's record closes across the pond, as Sage Group and easyJet offset a boost from BT. The FTSE 100 index opened down 31.09 points, 0.4%, at 8,414.71. The FTSE 250 was up 34.30 points, 0.2%, at 20,809.93, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.2 of a point at 791.81. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 840.90, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 18,152.47...

Equities on both sides of the Atlantic registered record highs on Wednesday, as a slowdown in US inflation prompted stocks to move higher as Federal Reserve interest rate cut hopes strengthened. Aside from the US data, there was a slew of M&A developments threatening to steal some of the spotlight in London. The owner of the Royal Mail backed a possible bid, while Wood Group said no to a suito...

Experian and Imperial Brands pushed the FTSE 100 to an all-time high on Wednesday morning, with London stocks up at midday ahead of this afternoon's US consumer price reading. The FTSE 100 index was up 21.63 points, 0.3%, at 8,449.76. The FTSE 100 hit a new record of 8,474.41 earlier. The FTSE 250 was up 86.51 points, 0.4%, at 20,705.03, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.28 of a point at 790.01....

Global data services specialist Experian notched-up a new high and led the FTSE gainers after revealing full year revenue growth at the top end of expectations and a strong outlook. The shares jumped 7% to £37.75 taking gains over the last 12-months to 35%, handsomely outperforming the blue-chip FTSE 100 return of 9%. Interestingly, chief executive Brian Cassin talked up rising margins and f...

Shares in Imperial Brands were up more than 4% to £19.53 in morning trading despite the tobacco and next-generation product maker reporting a 2.3% fall in first half revenue to £15.06 billion. Investors may have been cheered by the firm's ability to raise tobacco prices and the increase in NGP (next-generation product) revenue for the six months to March. GROWING MARKET SHARE Three out of f...

1H trading above expectations US infrastructure a big driver Shares top their decade-old high Specialist geotechnical contractor Keller Group sparked a stampede to buy its shares after it published an upbeat trading statement ahead of today's AGM (annual general meeting). The stock price leapt 178p or 15.7% to a new all-time high of £13.14, surpassing the previous high struck more than a d...

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE By Melissa Gallagher, Head of Investment Trusts, BlackRock “During tough economic conditions, the pie gets smaller. If customers don't have a compelling reason to buy a product, they won't.” While the outlook for this year's ISA season is less grim than it was 12 months ago, there are still headwinds for markets in the year ahead. The UK slipped int...