The latest service sector data, covering everything from pubs and restaurants to industrial and business companies, has shown healthy readings in the UK and US, but problems associated with inflation are brewing. 5 October saw the latest survey results from research firm IHS Markit for purchasing managers in the service sector around the world. Typically, a reading over 50 suggests rising ...

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 ...

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 ...

Despite mixed trading in Asia overnight, London’s FTSE 100 returned to life on Wednesday as summer holidays came to an end with the index up 0.7% to 7,171.68 points early on. Mining was the only sector to struggle after metal prices took a hit, with investors showing greater interest in the oil and gas sector where commodities prices were stronger. CORPORATE NEWS Magazines, books and ...

Shares in defence services group Babcock International (BAB) jumped as much as 8.5% to 332p, topping the FTSE 250 leader board, after the firm announced it had secured the sale of Frazer-Nash Consultancy to US engineering firm KBR for £293 million. The business, acquired by Babcock in 2007, forms part of the Marine division providing cyber-security, robotics, security and software services to ...

London’s FTSE 100 opened modestly higher on Friday morning, the blue chip benchmark bid up 0.4% to 7,220.1 points following energy sector share price falls earlier in the week, as investors shrugged off a Delta variant linked sell-off in Asia. The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 firmed 0.1% to 23,770.5 early on, while gold made further gains to $1,760 following yesterday’s strong ...

UK stocks finished the month flat despite a strong corporate  earnings season as concerns over Chinese regulation of technology stocks and disappointing US results weighed on sentiment. Overnight, Asian stocks sank as fears re-surfaced that Beijing could extend its intervention to more parts of the Chinese economy, while in the US shares in e-commerce giant Amazon.com fell 7% after the ...

UK stocks traded lower at lunchtime on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4% as concerns increased over the tighter regulation of Chinese companies. Brent Crude ...

Delayed results from specialist engineering services play Babcock (BAB) weren't worth the wait for investors as £2 billion worth of impairments saw the stock sink 11.2%. For year ended 31 March, pre-tax losses widened to £1.72 billion from £88.9 million year-on-year as revenue fell 3% to £4.18 billion. Total impairments and charges of £2 billion made this a messy set of numbers as the ...

UK stocks opened lower on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4%. Brent Crude prices fell 0.5% to $73.2 per barrel and Gold was flat at $1,829 per ounce. At 9am ...

Shares in Anglo American (AAL) spin-off Thungela (TGA), a thermal coal miner, tumbled 16% to 126.2p in their first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange, down from their opening price of 150p. It comes after Anglo American completed the demerger of its thermal coal business in South Africa, allowing Thungela to start trading on both the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Thungela ...

Across the UK voters go to the polls today (6 May) with investors’ attention likely to be focused on voting for the Scottish parliament – with the SNP looking to secure the majority it can claim as a mandate for a new independence referendum. Polling suggests the outcome is on a knife edge. The SNP could remain in power but having staked so much on getting a majority, the market is likely ...

Shares in engineering and defence company Babcock (BAB) climbed as much as 34% to 325p after the firm announced it would streamline its business and in the process take £1.7 billion of non-cash writedowns, but doesn’t need to tap shareholders for cash. NO CAPITAL RAISE Considering the shares were marked down sharply last Friday on press talk of writedowns reaching £700 million, today’s ...

UK shares opened slightly lower on Tuesday after February GDP moved back to growth of 0.4%, positive but below economists’ expectations. Trading in Asia was mixed after Chinese exports grew at a record pace in March, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.5% while the Nikkei 225 was 0.7% higher. Brent Crude prices were 0.6% higher at $63.7 a barrel while Gold was Gold was 0.3% lower at $1,727 ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished lower on Friday as travel-related stocks fell and after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened lower, with a rise in US bond yields weighing on highly valued tech stocks a day after the S&P 500 set a record closing high. By the close on Friday, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.38% at 6,915.75 points, though the high-flying FTSE 250 ended 0.02% higher at ...

London’s FTSE 100 traded flat by midday on Friday as banks and travel-related stocks fell, though the blue chip benchmark remained on course for its best week since early January ahead of an anticipated reopening-driven economic bounce. By lunchtime, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.12%, at 6,933.8, while the FTSE 250 was flat at 22,247.2 points. UK stocks took a breather following ...

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, the saying goes, and investors did not hang about for any confirmation from Babcock International (BAB) after rumours emerged of a big asset write-down incoming. Shares in the engineering services and defence firm tanked nearly 7% on Friday to 222.35p after a report in the Financial Times warned that the company was preparing to make wholesale asset ...

UK stocks have taken a breather following a strong week which saw a return to pre-pandemic levels for the FTSE 100 and a record high for the FTSE 250. The UK’s benchmark index fell 0.23% to 6,926 in early trading on Friday, while the midcap FTSE 250 traded almost flat at 22,261. It comes after Wall Street hit record highs overnight with the S&P 500 reaching an all-time high of ...

Engineering services firm and defence contractor Babcock (BAB) fell 17.3% to 218p as alongside a downbeat trading update the company announced a review of contract profitability and the balance sheet – expected to have negative impacts. Underlying profit fell by more than a third in nine months to date as performance in the third quarter was hurt by ongoing weakness in its civil aviation ...