The FTSE 100 opened 1% lower Wednesday to 5,838 points following comments on Tuesday by deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam that tighter restrictions were needed to stop the spread of coronavirus. Sentiment also took a hit in the US with Netflix disappointing the market after the market close, reporting fewer new subscribers than analysts’ expected with the shares off 7% in ...

UK shares drifted lower on Tuesday, lacking direction ahead of a self-imposed deadline in US negotiations for reaching agreement on another stimulus package to help small businesses hurt by the pandemic. Investors also weighed the increasing risks of further lockdown restrictions after Ireland imposed some of the strictest measures since March on Monday, telling people not to travel more than ...

UK shares moved into positive territory at midday on Tuesday ahead of the deadline for the US congress to reach agreement on a stimulus package. First-quarter earnings released by consumer goods company Proctor & Gamble showed sales up 9% and net earnings up 20%, helping the shares to a 2% gain ahead of the US market open. At 12:00 the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 0.4% to ...

Shares in FTSE 100 mining giant BHP (BHP) fell 0.8% to £16.01 after it scrapped a $2.5 billion expansion plan for its Olympic Dam mine in Australia. The mine, which is one of the world’s biggest deposits of copper, gold, silver and uranium, had actually recorded its best production performance in five years but BHP has decided against a brownfield expansion project after conducting over 400 ...

Shares in consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) rose 2.4% to £73.80 on Tuesday after the Dettol-to-Durex maker upgraded annual sales guidance after generating a forecast-beating surge in third quarter like-for-like sales. Slough-headquartered Reckitt’s revenues have been buoyed by higher demand for its trusted health and hygiene products during the Covid-19 ...

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) said on Tuesday that lung cancer drug Tagrisso had been granted Priority Review in the US with an expected decision date during the first-quarter of 2021. The shares added 0.4% to £81.40. The US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) grants priority review to applications that offer significant improvements over available options by demonstrating safety or efficacy ...

Shares in housebuilder Bellway (BWY) marked modest gains, up 0.3% to £26.35, as it resumed dividend payments and reported full-year profit which while lower year-on-year was still ahead of expectations. The company declared a final dividend of 50p per share, down from 100p year-on-year. For the year ended 31 July, pre-tax profit fell 64.3% to £236.7 million and revenue slipped 30.7% to £2.2 ...

UK stocks drifted in early trade as Europe reported record daily levels of coronavirus infections and US markets sold off ahead of Thursday’s final debate between President Trump and Democratic party challenger Joe Biden. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks gave up 9 points or 0.2% to 5,875 points with weakness in energy and financial stocks outweighing gains in retail and consumer ...

Despite a strong start for UK shares, driven by renewed hope over a US stimulus package and a coronavirus vaccine, the FTSE 100 finished modestly lower on Monday. Investors were unnerved by another wave of Covid-19 lockdowns in Europe, a disappointing third quarter Chinese growth figure as well as the probability a pandemic stimulus package won’t arrive before the US election. By close of ...

UK shares got off to a strong start on Monday morning as renewed hope over a US stimulus package and a coronavirus vaccine helped investors shrug off concerns over a no-deal Brexit and negative interest rates. Yet by lunchtime, the FTSE 100 was largely flat as the boost from US stimulus hopes, vaccine developments and Chinese economic data waned. US futures suggested Wall Street would manage ...