UK stocks rose sharply throughout morning trading on what has been dubbed ‘Super Thursday’ as a number of high-profile companies updated the market, with Christmas results revealing lockdown’s winners and losers. At around 12.15, the UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 gained 0.7% to 6,792.66 while the midcap FTSE 250 was up 0.84% to 20,789.48. CORPORATE NEWS Supermarket Tesco (TSCO) dipped ...

UK stocks moved slightly higher on Thursday despite ongoing concerns about rising Covid-19 cases across the world. At 08:40 the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was 0.3% higher at 6,770 points. In overnight Asian trading the Japanese Nikkei 225 index gained 0.9% while the Chinese SE Composite index lost 0.9%. Brent Crude prices nudged up 0.4% to $53.2 a barrel and Gold prices were ...

We are championing UK stocks despite the introduction of the latest lockdown measures. For more than four years London-listed shares have trailed in the wake of nearly all other major global markets, but the early Christmas present of a Brexit deal should end much of the uncertainty which led to this underperformance. We are already seeing a dramatic reversal in fortunes with the FTSE 100 going ...

Boss of online pet care and veterinary services firm Pets at Home (PETS) cashed in over £5 million worth of shares last week, having already passed go and collected more than £34,000 of interim dividends at the start of this month. Over a period of three days last week chief executive Peter Pritchard sold around 1.27 million ordinary shares at an average price of 383.98p, raising a total of ...

UK blue chip stocks have taken direction from Wall Street and ended the week at a nine-month high as US stocks hit new records, following a weak jobs report which is expected to put pressure on US policymakers to greenlight a stimulus package. The US economy, which is the world’s largest, added just 245,000 jobs – less than half the 500,000 jobs analysts had been expecting – in November ...

The FTSE 100 has continued to climb throughout trading on Friday with a steady flow of positive news boosting investor sentiment. Reuters reports that a Brexit trade deal could be ‘imminent’ with an agreement expected by the end of the weekend barring any last minute breakdown in talks, while construction industry data released earlier today also provided optimism having beat all ...

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) gained 2.3% to £23.56 as the foods-to-fashion conglomerate said it expects to take a bigger sales hit in its Primark business than previously thought due to lockdown, but also sees sales and profit being higher than last year. In an AGM trading update, ABF raised its estimate for lost sales at Primark to £430 million from £375 million previously owing ...

The UK’s FTSE 100 hit a nine-month high on Friday as a jump in oil prices boosted energy stocks and mild optimism over Brexit talks lifted the mood as the deadline closes in. This offset the drag following news that US drugs giant Pfizer has had to slash its roll-out target of its Covid-19 vaccine. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 0.7% in early trade at 6,534.52 with oil majors Royal Dutch Shell ...

Value looks to be back in fashion in more ways than one, and one of the best ways to play both investors’ and consumers’ eye for a bargain is through Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF). Market expectations for the company are subdued and it trades on an undemanding 12-month forward price to earnings ratio of 17.9. But as the economy looks set to recover going into 2021 as ...

UK stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday despite news that the UK had become the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use with vaccinations expected to start next week. In contrast, shares of BioNTech jumped 8% in Frankfurt on the news. By midday the FTSE 100 was was up just 12 points or 0.2% at 6,396, with consumer stocks such as AB Foods (ABF), Coca-Cola ...

Fashion-to-groceries conglomerate Associated British Foods’ (ABF) shares softened 1.3% to £17 on Tuesday, despite pandemic-impacted annual results coming in a shade above expectations. Weighing on sentiment was the FTSE 100 giant’s decision not to restart its dividend while management monitors ‘the impact of further Covid-19 restrictions on Primark during this important trading ...

London’s FTSE 100 extended yesterday’s gains on Tuesday morning, continuing to recover from last week’s sell-off. Investors braced themselves for the contentious US Presidential Election in which Democrat Joe Biden remains the betting favourite to win. Anticipation is high that he will have a more favourable trade policy with China and the EU, while the market is also counting on more ...

The FTSE 100 ended Monday with a 1.4% gain at 5,654, helped by a weaker pound. The currency fell 0.4% to $1.2904 following slow progress on Brexit talks, the threat of the Bank of England setting negative interest rates on Thursday and the prospect of a contested outcome from the US election. The more UK domestically focused FTSE 250 fell by 0.2% as investors worried about the impact of a new ...

After a slow opening following the announcement of a second national lockdown, UK stocks soared in mid-morning trading on Monday having been buoyed by a weaker pound and slightly improving sentiment. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 gained 1.16% to 5,642 shortly after 12pm as the pound grappled with the lockdown impact and various other issues, including a lack of progress on Brexit talks, the ...

Primark-owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has warned its budget clothing chain faces a massive £375 million loss of sales due to store closures mandated under fresh government restrictions across Europe and Boris Johnson’s proposed second lockdown of England. The fashion, groceries and sugar conglomerate also cautioned that ‘uncertainty about further temporary store closures in the ...

UK stocks continued their losing run on Monday with pub and restaurant operators among the biggest decliners as Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday effectively placed the UK under house arrest with new restrictions aimed at halting the alarming rise in coronavirus infections. The measures, set be implemented on Thursday, are a little less draconian than those in place over the spring and ...

Some of the most respected investors including Fundsmith manager Terry Smith and asset manager Stewart Investors hold the view that family-controlled businesses can be good investments. The logic is fairly simple – the people running family-controlled companies will have its interests at heart, because they want to ensure the business is around in 10, 50 or even 100 years’ time so their ...

Local high streets and out-of-town retail parks could see a resurgence as the public opts to either stay near to their homes for shopping and leisure activities, or to go somewhere with ample car parking space so they don’t mix with others in close proximity on public transport. There are already signs that commercial city centres including London are suffering as working and travel habits ...

After a strong rebound in UK retail sales over the summer as lockdown measures were relaxed, one might conclude that value-led propositions are going to be the strongest part of the sector in the coming months. Retail sales volumes increased by 3.6% between June and July. This was driven in large part by people spending more money on petrol as the Government said individuals should travel by ...

Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) fattened up 2% to £20.68 on Monday as the conglomerate said fourth quarter trading across both its food businesses and budget fashion arm Primark ‘exceeded expectations’. Having shifted more Primark stock than expected, ‘ABF’ also raised guidance for year-end cash to £1.3 billion. Unsurprisingly however, management still expects earnings for ...