UK stocks ended Thursday lower as a stalemate over a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union and rising Covid-19 infections fuelled fears of more damage to an already faltering domestic economic recovery. Even the modestly positive start to trading on Wall Street failed to turn the tide, leaving the benchmark FTSE 100 0.8% off at 6,334.35 despite positive vaccine updates. Automotive, Oil ...

The FTSE 100 remained in positive territory on Wednesday afternoon as a positive coronavirus vaccine update from US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer lifted markets across Europe and the US. Having started the day in the red, the UK’s benchmark index closed 0.31% higher to 6,385.24, mirroring gains seen in other markets with Germany’s DAX closing 0.52% higher and the S&P 500 in the US ...

The FTSE 100 moved back into positive territory by midday on Wednesday as it emerged the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is more effective than previously thought. The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has now been revealed to be 95% effective, and appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old. More data released from their ongoing phase three trial suggests it works just as ...

FTSE 100 chemicals giant Croda International (CRDA) has launched a £600 million placing and a retail offer to help it fund the acquisition of a Spanish flavours and fragrances company. Shares in Croda gained 2.1% to £62.12 after it said it has agreed to acquire Fragrance Spanish Topco, trading as Iberchem, from private equity company Eurazeo for €820 million. The company plans to fund ...

The UK Government’s wage subsidy scheme is due to end in October, a deadline that could spark a fresh wave of corporate redundancies and financial stress. For investors, this means taking action to ensure their stock portfolios are culled of potential financial basket cases and focused on quality companies that are stable, robust, and most likely to sustain shareholder returns through future ...

UK markets finished in the red on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend and investors fretted over resurgent Brexit fears and an October end to the furlough scheme. Coming off a strong run, the pause for breath occurred despite an impressive jobless claims report out of the US, with initial jobless claims dropping below one million for the first time since March. The FTSE ...

UK markets were lower on Thursday as a batch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend, while National Express (NEX) slumped after reporting a pre-tax loss for the first half of the year. Elsewhere in the world, the number of coronavirus deaths in India has topped 47,000, making it the fourth worst country globally, while New Zealand has recorded another 13 new infections, forcing Auckland into ...

The 100 FTSE fell 0.9% to 6,222.52 in early trading on Thursday as investors weighed up the impact of weak economic data seen yesterday and today’s corporate updates. A number of stocks going ex-dividend, as always happens on a Thursday, was also a big contributor to the fall, with the likes of pharma giants AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and oil majors BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch ...

UK stocks lost almost all of their gains in an afternoon trading session dominated by a weak start of Wall Street as profit takers moved in. US stocks turned lower as investors assessed data showing an unexpected rise in jobless claims versus a slate of solid earnings from the likes of Tesla and Twitter. The S&P 500 Index looked set to halt a four-day advance, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ...

UK stocks continued their bright start in early afternoon trading on Thursday as investors looked beyond rising diplomatic tensions between the US and China. Chinese authorities called Washington’s order to close its consulate in Houston, Texas ‘political provocation’ after China had been accused by US officials of the widespread stealing of intellectual property. Despite being one of ...

UK stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors put aside concerns surrounding renewed diplomatic tensions between the US and China. The US has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, after accusing it of stealing intellectual property. Beijing called the move a ‘political provocation’. Despite being one of the most significant developments in the ongoing diplomatic ...

After a strong bounce back in share prices over the past two months, a number of directors appear to have taken advantage. Two of the most notable transactions come from FTSE 100 companies Croda International (CRDA) and Rentokil Initial (RTO). CRODA CEO SELLS AFTER SHARES GAIN 20% SINCE APRIL Steve Foots, chief executive of chemicals giant Croda, this week sold 27,243 shares for £50.12 ...

Oil and gas giant BP (BP.) has shown there are still some dividend payers on the FTSE 100 after committing to a $2bn payout despite reporting a $4.37bn loss for the first three months  of 2020. Increasing numbers of companies are cutting dividends as more and more look to preserve cash to survive the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but there still some like BP which have ...

UK stocks were mixed in early trading despite a positive session on Wall Street and a rebound in oil prices. The FTSE 100 index traded down 0.1% at 5,765 points while the FTSE 250 index of medium-sized stocks gained 0.9% to 15,727. Weighing on the main index was food and household goods giant Unilever (ULVR) which lost 5.5% to £40.11 after it reported flat sales of €12.4bn in the first ...

On 24 February stock markets finally seemed to hit the panic button on the coronavirus with the FTSE 100 hitting its lowest level since early December and the Dow Jones index in the US enduring its worst day in two years. WHAT TRIGGERED THE MARKET SELL-OFF? The catalyst for the big sell-off in global equities was news of significant outbreaks in Italy and Iran which seemingly had no direct ...

Shares in chemical giant Croda International (CRDA) dropped 4.3% to £47.08 as it missed annual profit expectations after being hit by the US-China trade war. In its full year results to 31 December 2019, Croda reported adjusted pre-tax profit of £322.1m, down 2.8% from the year before and less than the £327.4m the market had been expecting. Adjusted sales dipped 0.2% to £1.265bn, basic ...

The measure of calm that descended on London markets in early trade on Tuesday failed to last with UK shares diving into the red again by late morning. At 11.40m, the benchmark FTSE 100 had slumped 0.8% to 7,100.49, while the FTSE 250 falgged by a similar margin at 20,951. This followed Monday’s huge sell-off and heavy falls in Far East stock markets overnight. Shares in Japan fell ...

Fallen star fund manager Neil Woodford’s one-time flagship fund Woodford Equity Income is now returning its depleted capital to investors. The first payment of cash to investors is expected to be on or around 30 January, representing about 70% of the fund’s current value. If you feel royally let down by Woodford and want a better fund generating income, help is at hand. Rather than ...

Anniversaries are often a time to pause and reflect and as this publication enters its third decade we felt it would be an excellent excuse to take a look back at the best performing UK stocks from the last 20 years of our existence. The table below shows the top 10 performers which are currently constituents of the FTSE 350 index. In this article we examine each of these names in turn and ...

Shares in chemicals firm Croda (CRDA) slumped nearly 5% to £45.94 as the US/China trade dispute jammed up sales in its Personal Care division, leading to a decline in half year profits. That makes Croda the day's biggest faller among FTSE 100 companies. Croda reported a 2.7% fall in pre-tax profit to £166.2m for the six months to 30 June with earnings per share showing a similar reverse ...