After a weak session in Asia overnight, UK shares recovered from their morning lows to trade sideways at lunchtime as banks and other financial stocks crept higher, offsetting further falls in house builders and weakness in retailers. Gold was down 0.2% at $1,823 an ounce while Brent crude was 0.2% higher at $84.35 a barrel. Sterling continued its advance against the dollar, up another 0.2% to ...

Shares in specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals company Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) ticked up 0.2% to £44.74 after saying strong first quarter trading had continued through the first half to 31 December 2021. Group revenues increased around 15% in constant currencies (90% of the company’s revenues are generated outside the UK) for the first half which Numis pharma analyst Kane Slutzkin ...

Budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) emphasised its optimism for a rapid recovery in the European flights industry by raising €500 million through a bond offering. The bonds come with a 1% coupon and expire in 2026, while Wizz Air’s credit is rated BBB by ratings agencies Fitch and Baa3 by Moody’s. That the company says the offer was ‘oversubscribed’ illustrates the rampant appetite among ...

Shares in online fast fashion retailer ASOS (ASC:AIM) rallied 10.5% to £24.96 as the one-time stock market darling maintained full year guidance and said it will move from AIM to the Main Market by the end of February. Given its market cap north of £2.2 billion, ASOS should qualify for a place in the FTSE 250 index later this year and benefit from index funds buying its stock. RELIEF RALLY ...

The UK’s largest supermarket Tesco (TSCO) raised full year earnings guidance after stronger than expected third quarter trading. Like rival Sainsbury’s (SBRY), the firm posted a jump in sales over the Christmas period with like-for-like revenues in the UK and Ireland, excluding VAT and fuel, up 2.7% on the previous year, which itself was exceptionally strong, showing 9.2% growth over ...

Retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) fell 5.6% to 238.8p despite a positive Christmas update. The slump can be seen in the context of a very strong run for the share price, elevated expectations and the lack of an upgrade to full-year profit guidance alongside the trading statement. Marks said it was ‘more confident’ to deliver on its already twice hiked guidance for full year pre-tax profit ...

UK shares traded lower on Thursday following a weak session in Asia after Chinese data showed bank lending fell more than expected in December, hitting property and consumer stocks. The SE Composite fell 1.2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1%. Gold was down 0.2% at $1,823 an ounce while Brent Crude was 0.2% higher at $84.35 a barrel. At 8:50, the FTSE index of leading shares was down ...

The FTSE 100 finished 0.81% in the green at 7,551.72 points on Wednesday, building on Tuesday’s rally despite US CPI inflation hitting 7% in December, a 40-year high. With markets already pricing in rate rises, investors took the US inflation print in their stride, though it would have been a different story if the figure had strayed above the 7% most analysts had been expecting. Global ...

London’s FTSE 100 traded 0.66% higher at 7,540.92 points by lunchtime on Wednesday amid the release of a slew of positive local earnings updates, including guidance upgrades from retailers Sainsbury’s (SBRY), JD Sports Fashion (JD.) and Dunelm (DNLM), and as investors awaited the release of key US inflation data due later in the day. The global mood already had been lifted by testimony ...

Shares in fantasy worlds video game developer and publisher Frontier Developments (FDEV:AIM) dropped 25% to £13.32 after management lowered guidance again after delaying the release of its Warhammer Age of Sigmar IP real-time strategy game. The company reported an operating loss for the first six months to 30 November and narrowed its forecast revenue guidance for 2022 to between £100 ...