The simple option for investors these days is to choose a tracker fund which mirrors a certain part of the market. Therefore, actively managed funds really need to add value and deliver market-beating returns if they are to convince investors not to go for the easy option of a tracker fund. All products classified as investment trusts are actively managed funds and there are certain areas which ...

In our latest screening of FTSE 350 stocks with the biggest one-month upgrades to earnings per share forecasts for this year and next year, the clear winners in terms of numbers are retailers. Heading the field, somewhat surprisingly, is clothing and sportwear group Frasers (FRAS), best known for its pile-it-high-and-sell-it-cheap Sports Direct chain which accounts for more than 50% of ...

This is the final part of our three-part series on the FTSE 250. Read our introduction here and catch up on the growth versus value debate in part two here. In this last part of our mini-series on the FTSE 250 we take a look at some of the higher quality stocks that inhabit the UK’s mid-cap universe. We will discuss some of the companies that demonstrate real financial strength and balance ...

Shares in Sports Direct owner Frasers (FRAS) firmed 4.5p to 619.5p as the retail conglomerate posted robust full year results, with underlying EBITDA up more than 29% to £391 million despite revenue falling 8.4% as stores were shuttered for around six months due to Covid. Yet the figures were somewhat overshadowed by the news shrewd retail operator Mike Ashley is to step down as CEO, with his ...

The FTSE 100 dipped slightly on Thursday morning, although it remained above the 7,000 level at 7,118.3, following the UK’s easing of travel restrictions for some destinations including France, which will see less people being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK. Strength in utilities and real estate was offset by weakness in miners and consumer non-cyclicals as investors waited ...

Keeping a regular watch on stocks with positive and negative share price momentum is a useful exercise as it tells us which areas of the market are hot or not. Investors who follow a pure momentum strategy like to buy stocks that keep a hitting a new 12-month high in the belief the share price is on a roll and can keep going up. Some investors avoid stocks hitting a new 12-month low, for ...

When a heavyweight investor takes a significant stake in a business, many companies talk up that strategic investment. This is often the case in mining, where junior companies shout from the hill tops when one of the sector’s big players pop up on their share register. If anything, online value retailer Studio Retail (STU), formerly known as Findel, has tended to play down the presence of ...

Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) 233.99p Gain to date: 38.4% Original entry point: Buy at 169p, 22 October 2020 We said to buy value-focused Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) last October in the belief that value investing could make a comeback, which has since proved correct. Full-year results on 2 June revealed that Aurora had beaten the FTSE All-Share by 4.5% in 2020, albeit falling by ...

London’s FTSE 100 plunged deeply into the red by close on Tuesday, reversing significant earlier gains as concerns over a global chip shortage sparked a tech sell-off in the US. The global shortage of semiconductors has put pressure on tech and carmaker stocks, which are leading the falls. The UK’s benchmark index fell back below 7,000 to close 0.67% lower to 6,923. In the US the ...

London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.82% by lunchtime on Tuesday to reach 7,026.99, jumping back above the psychologically important 7,000 level as investors looked to the reopening and holidays starting again. Travel stocks in particular have been buoyed on hopes of EU tourism opening up again next month, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) gaining 2.8% to ...

UK stocks got off to a firm start to trading following the holiday-extended weekend with economically sensitive sectors, including miners, travel and energy, driving gains. The benchmark FTSE 100 opened around 0.6% higher, pushing back above the 7,000 market at 7,011.80 with Fresnillio’s (FRES) near 3.5% at 851.4p leading the index. Travel and leisure companies also saw firm demand as Brits ...

Shares in Mulberry (MUL:AIM) were marked up 15% to 292p on news the posh handbag maker now expects to beat market forecasts for its 2021 financial year by reporting a small underlying pre-tax profit. At the first half results last November, the Mike Ashley-backed British luxury brand had guided towards reduced losses for the year ended 27 March 2021 on lower sales. DIGITAL PROGRESS, FEWER ...

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 ...

Mike Ashley’s Frasers (FRAS) has warned it may take a further accounting hit of over £200 million due to Covid restrictions, double its previous estimate provided in late February. While disappointing, shares in the Sports Direct-to-House of Fraser owner rose 0.9% to 501.5p on optimism over the reopening of vast swathes of its estate from 12 April, when non-essential retailers are allowed to ...

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 ...

Retail group Frasers (FRAS) has hit out at what it called a ‘near worthless’ business rates support package for large retailers announced in the Budget, saying it would make it ‘nearly impossible’ for the firm to take on the ex-Debenhams stores it had planned to. Frasers, which owns Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, said the £2 million rates cap on businesses from July 2021 to March 2022 ...

UK stocks headed into the weekend on a decidedly down note after US markets fell for a third day on Thursday. The Nasdaq 100 index is already down on the year and back to November levels while S&P 500 is barely in positive territory. The FTSE 100 index dropped by 60 points or 0.8% to 6,590 in the first half hour of trading with financial stocks and miners bearing the brunt of the ...

Mike Ashley-controlled retail conglomerate Frasers (FRAS) expects to write down the value of its assets by more than £100 million due to the current lengthy lockdown, one that has forced the closure of stores deemed non-essential and will last at least another seven weeks. Yet shares in the Sports Direct-to-House of Fraser owner rose 4% to 478p on Tuesday, joining in a wider reopening rally on ...

UK markets were flat in early trade on Tuesday as gains from rising commodity prices, mining and energy stocks and a firm reopening trade were neutralised by weakness from banking giant HSBC (HSBA), which ditched its long-term profitability targets. At 9am, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 benchmark was struggling to make any ground, clawing single point gains at 6,613.56. Mid-caps were much ...