Stock prices in London closed lower on Tuesday as hopes continued fading for three US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, and as tensions between Iran and Israel added to investors? fears.The FTSE 100 index closed down 145.17 points, 1.8%, at 7,820.36. The FTSE 250 ended down 354.35 points, 1.8%, at 19,344.54, and the AIM All-Share closed down 12.00 points, down 1.6%, at 738.28.The Cboe

London?s FTSE 100 opened sharply lower on Tuesday, as US interest rate worries and geopolitical tensions continued to cast a dark cloud over equity markets.Only Mondi traded higher, with even packaging peer DS Smith falling despite agreeing to a takeover from International Paper, the latest twist in a takeover saga that also involved Mondi. Mondi is yet to respond to the development.The FTSE 100 i

Major US indices notched-up further all-time highs this week on dovish comments from Fed chair Jay Powell in the press conference following the central bank?s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.The Fed?s summary of economic projections sees stronger economic growth and stickier inflation, but it still anticipates a couple of rate cuts later in the year.The small-cap, economically sensitive

French conglomerate flags slowdownAsia Pacific disappointsGucci turnaround remains uncertainEuropean luxury stocks were marked down on Wednesday after French conglomerate Kering (KER:EPA) warned its first-quarter sales were expected to tumble by 10%, dragged down by its flagship brand Gucci which is in the early stages of a turnaround.Kering shares plunged 15% to ?362.3 in early Paris trading on t

Total revenue and other income up 13.8% to $1.2 billionPre-tax profit up 21.5%Strong passenger and capacity growthKazakhstan-based airline Air Astana (AIRA) reported a 21.5% increase in pre-tax profit to $68.7 million for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.The company reported total revenue of $1.2 billion, up 13.8% on the prior year as passenger numbers increased 10.1% to a record 8.1 million.

Indices in London were largely unmoved at the start of trading ahead of a batch of US data due on Thursday afternoon.Among individual shares making waves, however, Trainline jumped as it expects revenue growth to beat expectations. OSB Group tumbled on poorly-received earnings and a tepid outlook.The FTSE 100 index rose just 2.97 points to 7,775.14. The FTSE 250 climbed only 4.07 points to 19,567.

Stocks in London were in the red at midday on Monday, as investors continued to deal with last week?s sell-off in US tech shares and a ?mixed? jobs report.A favourable inflation reading helped the Shanghai Composite achieve a 0.7% gain to start to the week, despite lingering concern for the Chinese economy. But it was the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo that was badly hit by tech share declines, giving back 2

Stock prices in London were a mixed bag at the open on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 lower ahead of the next ECB interest rate decision, despite boosts from Rentokil and Virgin Money UK.The FTSE 100 index opened down 19.49 points, 0.3%, at 7,659.82. The FTSE 250 was up 36.80 points, 0.2%, at 19,510.02, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.14 of a points at 737.77.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 767.12, t

Stock prices in London were in the green at midday Thursday, as UK purchasing managers? index data indicated that the UK recession is ?already? over.Eye are now on US jobless data, which will be released at 1330 GMT.The FTSE 100 index was up 20.96 points, 0.3%, at 7,683.47. The FTSE 250 was up 135.16 points, 0.7%, at 19,254.13, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.86 of a points, 0.1%, at 750.88.The Cbo

Stocks in London opened in the green on Friday, after receiving a boost from a report that showed UK retail sales grew sizeably in January, a day after it was announced the nation fell into a recession last year.The reading calmed some nerves about the health of the UK economy and supported shares in the retail sector.NatWest sent lenders higher, meanwhile, though the stock itself had somewhat of

Positive full year and fourth quarter volumes?1.5 billion share buyback pleasesBut competitiveness remains ?disappointing?Fast-moving consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR) reported a return to volume growth with improved margins for the year to December 2023 which, combined with a new ?1.5 billion buyback set to launch in the second quarter, sent the shares up 3% to £40.16 in mid-morning dealings.

AG Barr (BAG) 550pGain to date: 13.5%We flagged Scottish soft drinks maker AG Barr (BAG) in August 2023 arguing the company was not being given sufficient credit by the market for its sales momentum. We highlighted the strength of its portfolio of brands including Irn-Bru and Rubicon.WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?We were on the money when we flagged ?the scope for further upgrades? as

Burberry (BRBY) £12.94Market cap: £4.6 billionSlowing luxury demand and two profit warnings in three months have left Burberry (BRBY) firmly out of fashion with investors. Shares in the British luxury brand have lost around 50% and 30% of their value over one and five years respectively. Given the old stock market adage about profit warnings coming in threes, Shares concedes there is some dange

Profit guidance upgraded againBrands have positive momentumEuan Sutherland to succeed Roger WhiteOne of Shares running Great Ideas selections, Irn-Bru-to-Rubicon drinks maker AG Barr (BAG) served up another full-year profit upgrade which sent the shares up 1.5% to a 52-week high of 576p.The beverages business behind iconic Scottish tipple Irn-Bru as well as take home cocktail offering FUNKIN and c

Stocks in London climbed on hopes earnings from two of the biggest names in US business would spark further upward momentum in equities.The FTSE 100 index closed up 33.57 points, 0.4%, at 7,666.31. The FTSE 250 ended up 38.34 points, 0.2%, at 19,349.50, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.61 points, 0.6%, at 754.89.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 766.38, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 16,807.59,

European equities headed into Tuesday afternoon on the front foot, while equities in New York are called to open a touch lower, as events in the US over the next two days take centre-stage.Tech earnings and Fed decision are on the docket over the next on Tuesday and Wednesday.?The next two days will test investor sentiment thanks to the publication of financial results from two of the biggest name

Helped by positive news on the economy, US markets had another strong week with the S&P500 index, the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Industrials making new all-time highs.Real GDP (gross domestic product) expanded at an annual rate of 3.3% in the fourth quarter, marking a slowdown from the previous quarter?s 4.9% but above consensus forecasts of 2% suggesting the US economy remains on track for a ?s

There isn?t a great deal of UK economic news to look forward to over the next seven days, the highlight being official December retail sales due on 19 January.If reports from supermarkets and high-street retailers are any guide, shoppers spent more freely on groceries than last year, and bought more items than usual, while general merchandise and clothing sales performed less well. That seems to b

A big increase in the average takeover premium in 2023 highlights how parts of the UK stock market continue to be undervalued. The average bid premium for UK stocks in 2023 was 51% against 37% in 2022 and 43% in 2021, according to analysis by AJ Bell.Most London-listed takeovers last year involved small-cap firms. Buyers were a mixture of private equity firms or industry players looking to buy riv

Equity prices in Europe fell sharply on Wednesday, as the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in March became less of a certainty and more of a toss-up.While a cut by the Federal Reserve in March still the most likely outcome, the odds of one happening have shrunk in recent days. Futures traders have assigned a probability of 57% that the Fed cuts in March. That probability sat as high