Shares News

The FTSE 100 advanced 0.4% to 7,400, boosted by gains in miners, tobacco stocks and financial companies, as well as positive from sentiment from US markets hitting new all-time highs yesterday and hopes of an imminent US-China trade deal announcement. Shares in foods to fashion conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF) were in demand, up 4.6% to £23.52 following better than expected ...

Insurer Hiscox (HSX) was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 at the start of the week, dropping 2.5% to a three-month low of £14.40 after revealing a substantial third-quarter charge for catastrophe losses. Chief executive Bronek Masojada admitted that the third quarter has been an active period for claims, with the market experiencing significant losses from storms in the US, the Caribbean ...

Shares in bombed-out baby goods purveyor Mothercare (MTC) slumped 30% to 8.02p on Monday after the embattled retailer called in administrators to its ailing UK high street chain. Putting around 2,500 jobs at risk, the collapse represents yet another blow to the British retail sector, although Mothercare’s profitable, 1,000 store-strong overseas business will be spared. Mothercare insists the ...

It has avoided the ‘unreliable optimism of some competitors’ and trimmed the top end of its profit guidance, but budget airline Ryanair (RYA) has nonetheless pleased the market this morning. Its shares are up around 6.4% to €13.28 as its half-year results were better than expected. Despite reporting flat profit after tax of €1.15bn, this was roughly 7% ahead of the market consensus ...

The pressure on construction firm Kier (KIE) continues to mount amid reports that its lenders are looking to offload the company’s debt to hedge funds. The news sent the shares down 7% to 109p in early trade on Monday. A year ago the stock was valued at more than 900p. The Sunday Telegraph reported at the weekend that banks are marketing the borrowings as low as 70p in the pound ...

British brewer and pubs operator Marston’s (MARS) announced the sale of 137 pubs for £44.9m to Admiral Taverns, nudging the shares up 1.5% to 125p. The disposal is in line with the company’s stated goal to reduce net debt by £200m before 2023 through the disposal of non-core assets. ‘We are encouraged by the level of market interest that this portfolio of pubs has ...

London’s FTSE 100 firmed 36.6 points to 7,338.97 on Monday with investors drawing confidence from optimistic comments from US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross about a US/China trade war resolution. Mining stocks Glencore (GLEN) and Antofagasta (ANTO), as well as Asia-focused life insurer Prudential (PRU) and several UK banking providers, led the blue chip benchmark higher. International ...

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE James Anderson, joint manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, talks about why we need to embrace risk and volatility to achieve long-term rewards. The value of your investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and as a result your capital may be at risk. This is not an easy article to write. It comes with an apology to any readers who ...

Shares in Russian steelmaking and mining giant Evraz (EVR)  reported lower production and flat sales, failing to allay concerns over its thinly-covered dividend. In a third quarter update, the firm said crude steel output decreased by 3.4% quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to lower production volumes at its plant in Western Siberia due to scheduled maintenance. The firm was also impacted by ...

The world’s largest inter-dealer broker TP Icap (TCAP) reported a 17% jump in third-quarter revenue to £478m as it benefited from increased trading activity due to global trade frictions and Brexit worries, pushing the shares up 6% to a new 12-month high of 366p. Chief executive Nicolas Breteau commented, ‘today's strong trading update demonstrates that TP ICAP's trading portfolio is well ...