Overshadowed by the negative hit to Primark’s sales from the ‘pingdemic’ and a slowdown in its new store roll-out caused by Covid restrictions was news that the discount fashion chain is progressing the initial design and development for its new digital platform. Furthermore, the recruitment of new talent ‘to create a new digital capability within the business’ is ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Monday’s session 0.56% higher at 7,068.43 points as a risk appetite rebound took oil prices higher and drove demand for index heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP.), shares in both improving by more than 2% to £14.57 and 302.3p respectively. Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 586.4p on a UBS downgrade, having announced ...

Reports that the Post Office has inked a deal to deliver for Amazon helped push Royal Mail (RMG) to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday. By midday, the blue chip benchmark was up 0.8% at 7,086.07 points. Amid the FTSE 250 ranks, low-cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 14% to 587p on a UBS downgrade, having announced a £1.2 billion rights issue last week. MARKET NEWS Shares in ...

Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has upgraded annual earnings guidance following better-than expected fourth quarter profit performances from the budget fashion chain and the foods-to-fashion conglomerate’s sugar business. Yet Associated British Foods’ shares led the FTSE 100 lower on Monday, marked down 3.8% to £18.96 on the news Primark’s domestic sales were severely ...

UK stocks recovered from Friday's losses in early trading, despite  weakness in US markets at the end of last week and a fall in Asian equity markets. All three major US indices fell on Friday after a court ruling was seen as negative for heavyweight tech stock Apple. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices were pulled lower by concerns of greater Chinese regulation of tech ...

We’re pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. This is part five of the series click to read parts one, two, three and four.  In managing my retirement portfolio of 30 shares, currently divided between 12 in the FTSE 100, 13 in FTSE 250 companies and five from the FTSE AIM ...

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) were the biggest FTSE 100 risers on Thursday, marked up 4.9% to £23.25 as the foods-to-fashion conglomerate raised annual profit guidance amid an improved outlook for Primark and its sugar division. Following an encouraging sales performance by Primark since stores reopened, the conglomerate has upgraded its full year sales forecast for the cut-price ...

The FTSE 100 made a decent start to the second half as the market awaits UK manufacturing data and unemployment figures from the EU. At 9am the FTSE 100 was up 1.1% at 7,119 led by consumer stocks and house builders. COMPANY NEWS Primark owner AB Foods (ABF) raised its guidance for full year pre-tax earnings to 'not less than £550 million' against market estimates of £525 ...

UK stocks continued their positive run on Tuesday after official figures showed payrolls surged by almost 200,000 in April, the fourth consecutive monthly rise and the biggest rise on record, as companies rushed to hire. The headline jobless rate fell to 4.7%, the lowest since last August, as firms chased workers and the government was able to reduce furlough payments. At the peak last May, the ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Tuesday’s session down 2% at 6,859.87 as stronger sterling and resurgent concerns about the course of the global Covid-19 pandemic weighed on investor sentiment, while tobacco stocks remained weak amid reports of US regulatory pressure. On Wall Street the S&P 500 was down 0.9% at 4,128.07 by 4.30pm UK time. TOBACCO STOCKS TUMBLE Shares in British American ...

UK stocks continued to slide on Tuesday following some mixed company updates and modest profit-taking after the big gains of last week, with weakness also reflecting the pound’s continued rise on UK recovery hopes and share price declines for London’s two tobacco firms. By midday, the FTSE 100 was down 1.1% at 6,923.5 points while the FTSE 250 was off 0.7% at 22,339. TOBACCO STOCKS ...

Shares in Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) cheapened 2.2% to £24.07 on Tuesday despite the fashion-to-foods conglomerate surprising investors with a return to the dividend list and flagging record sales for its discount fashion chain over the past week. While Primark enjoyed a stunning reopening last week, Associated British Foods ‘continues to expect the profit for Primark to ...

The FTSE 100 dipped back below 7,000 in early trading on Tuesday following some mixed company updates and modest profit taking after the big gains of last week. The UK’s benchmark index fell 0.2% to 6,986.18, taking its cue from Wall Street where stocks also fell overnight, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 1% and even the Dow Jones falling 0.3% as banks, energy firms and consumer-facing ...

Shares in key retailers were marked down on Monday despite optimism as ‘non-essential’ shops opened their doors for the first time in months. Retailers are hopeful of high footfall and are welcoming longer opening hours, yet share prices had already risen to discount today’s grand reopening and investors are watching to see if consumers will eagerly return to brick and mortar shops or ...

According to the Government’s latest ‘roadmap’, non-essential stores in England can reopen from 12 April. This includes clothes shops, book shops, department stores (remember those?), mobile phone shops, betting shops, car dealerships and shops such as florists and hairdressers. Face masks and social distancing will still be necessary, but for a good proportion of the population the ...

London’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.1% at 6,651.96 on Thursday, giving up earlier gains as a weak open on Wall Street unnerved investors. The S&P 500 was trading 0.9% lower at 3,889.41 as at 4.30pm UK time as strong durable goods orders helped stoke inflation fears. There was also some renewed signs of the Reddit-inspired volatility from January as the heavily shorted Texan computer games ...

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 6,676.89 points by midday on Thursday, albeit off its high point for the day, with gains for the blue chip benchmark underpinned by strength in the oil and gas sector amid oil price strength on a busy day for corporate news. Mining companies rose on robust results from Anglo American (AAL), thanks to rising demand and tight supply, and talk of mergers and ...

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) firmed 0.7% to £24.55 as the diversified foods-to-fashion conglomerate reported a resilient first half performance from Primark for the periods when its shops were open, as well as forecast-beating showings from its grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses. However, the FTSE 100 firm also warned that store closures have cost its Primark ...

UK stocks built on their previous day’s gains as mining companies rose on robust results from Anglo American (AAL), thanks to rising demand and tight supply, and talk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) resurfaced. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks added 18 points or 0.3% to 6,677 led by mining and packaging shares, while banks and house builders gave up some ground. The pound climbed ...

The FTSE 100 was enduring a bumpy ride on Wednesday, reversing morning declines to post modest gains at lunchtime. Fears of a return of meaningful inflation pushing interest rates higher and the strong pound hitting exporters acting as a drag during the early session wore thin as optimism gathered on hopes that tourists may be able to head off on holidays if the lockdown restrictions are eased ...