Despite the UK lurching back into an economically destructive lockdown, London’s FTSE 100 clawed back earlier losses to close 0.61% higher at 6,612.25 points on Tuesday. The blue chip benchmark’s resilience reflected hopes for a swift vaccine rollout as well as a boost to sentiment from chancellor Rishi Sunak’s £4.6 billion relief package for the UK retail and hospitality ...

London’s FTSE 100 was broadly flat at lunchtime on Tuesday, off 0.09% at 6,565.7 points with the blue chip benchmark showing resilience in spite of a new national lockdown in England as investors looked towards what support for businesses Chancellor Rishi Sunak could announce. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night announced another lockdown with schools closed and stay-at-home orders ...

London’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.5% in early trade to 6,605 despite a new national lockdown in England, as investors looked towards what support for businesses Chancellor Rishi Sunak could announce. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night announced another lockdown with schools closed and stay-at-home orders issued, as the new variant of coronavirus takes hold. The lockdown is expected to last ...

UK shares ended the day stronger with investor optimism lifted by hopes of a US stimulus package being agreed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set for talks again today, with hopes growing that the Democrats and Republicans can get a new Covid-19 stimulus package over the line. Having started the day in the red, the UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed ...

The FTSE 100 recouped some of its earlier losses by midday on Tuesday, helped by a falling pound on reports the EU will ignore the UK’s Brexit ultimatum, as well as news that US president Donald Trump has returned to the White House. The exporter-heavy index traded relatively flat at 5,939 by 12pm as the pound fell against the euro and dollar. It follows reports from Bloomberg that the EU ...

UK shares opened lower on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 index dipping 0.2% to 5,929 points on lingering doubts about the state of economic recovery. Overnight trading in Asia was mixed with China’s Shanghai SE Composite down 0.2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.5%. Gold prices were slightly lower down 0.1% at $1,911 an ounce and Brent Crude was 0.3% higher at $41.3 a barrel. The pound was up ...

Many people are prepared to pay a high price for growth in the current market. Indeed, Shares has been keen to extol the virtues of quality businesses capable of growing despite a troubled backdrop. However, we sense growing interest in the market for value opportunities and our research shows it is currently possible to find decent companies trading at attractive prices. Warren Buffett ...

After rallying over 1% this morning, the FTSE 100 swung the other way on Tuesday afternoon to close deeply in the red, as a surging pound and plummeting US consumer confidence dragged the index down. The UK’s benchmark index closed 1.11% lower to 6,037.01, with the exporter-heavy index – full of companies who report in US dollars – hit by the pound’s rise against the dollar. Also ...

UK stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday, buoyed by strength in miners as the gold price continued to surge and with oil stocks in demand as crude prices broke higher following another significant drawdown in US weekly stockpiles. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 68.72 points, or 1.14%, at 6,104.72. Motor insurer Hastings (HSTG) jumped 17.7% to 253p after it agreed to a bid ...

UK stocks were stronger on Wednesday, picking up where they left off on Tuesday and maintaining the bullish outlook for August so far. Motor insurer Hastings (HSTG) soared on the back of a £1.66 billion takeover bid from Finland’s Sampo and Rand Merchant Investment, although a new record for the gold price revealed continuing investor unease. At 11.15, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 62 ...

Concerns around a second wave of coronavirus infections led global stock markets sharply lower on Monday morning. The FTSE 100 index plunged 2.2% in early trade, dropping back below the 6,000 mark to hit 5,969 points. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell a whopping 3.5%, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropping 2.32%. US equity futures are pointing to a 2% fall in indices there later ...

London’s FTSE 100 made substantial gains in early trading on Tuesday, bid up 165.73 points or 2.97% to 5,748.12 amid continued hopes that the spread of coronavirus may be levelling out in major hotspots in Europe and the US. Embattled Cineworld (CINE) rallied 17.3% to 46.45p after the cinema operator suspended dividends in a bid to strengthen liquidity, having shuttered all its cinemas ...

The FTSE 100 plunged 3.75% to 5,096 in early morning trade despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledging £350bn, equivalent of 15% of the UK’s GDP, in support for businesses. Companies across the UK are facing an unprecedented crisis as people stay at home and spend only on essentials due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the sharp drop in economic activity putting a wide of range of jobs and ...

Mining companies were among the biggest fallers in the FTSE 350 today as markets worry about the impact from the coronavirus outbreak in China. The country’s government has extended the national holiday by three days to help contain the virus, with Chinese companies advising staff to work from home or take longer holidays. Retail, leisure and hospitality are the sectors set to take the ...

UK stocks eased back after last week’s strong finish, with the FTSE 100 index giving up 21 points or 0.3% to 7,303. Banks, Household Goods, Mobile Telecoms and Tobacco were the sectors weighing the most on the index. Global banking giant HSBC (HSBA) delivered a disappointing third quarter earnings update, with profits down 24% to $3bn, and abandoned its Return on Tangible Equity target of ...

UK stocks didn’t get off to the best of starts on Monday morning as doubts grow as to whether or not there will actually be a Brexit deal. Despite positive noises over the weekend, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a ‘big gap’ still remains over customs arrangements. This news led the pound to dip to a little under $1.26 on the dollar. That helped stemmed some losses on the FTSE ...

Investors have breathed a sigh of relief after the charity saga which has engulfed iron ore miner Ferrexpo (FXPO) cleared its directors of any wrongdoing. An independent review into whether donations made by Ferrexpo to Ukrainian charity Blooming Land had been misappropriated found that funds may well have been misued, but absolved all Ferrexpo directors and staff of any blame. The firm’s ...

Markets continued to claw back some of the month’s losses following signs yesterday from China and the US that they would resume trade talks. The FTSE 100 was trading up 0.4% at 7,212 while the FTSE 250 advanced by a similar amount to 19,370. Selco-owner Grafton (GFTU) reported an uptick in half-yearly profits on improved margins strength in its merchanting and retailing businesses in ...

UK stocks retreated on Thursday with the FTSE 100 index down 33 points or 0.5% to 7,171 led by Metals, Mining and Oil Services stocks. Mining stocks came under pressure after analysts at Liberum cut their forecast for iron ore prices and downgraded Anglo American (AAL), BHP (BHP), Ferrexpo (FXPO) and Rio Tinto (RIO) to Sell. Also weighing on the index was copper miner Antofagasta ...

Emerging concerns of a global recession drag on UK stock markets in early trade on Thursday as a political unrest in Hong Kong, inverse yield curves and ex-dividends take their toll in a largely quiet day for corporate news. The FTSE 100 sinks around 25 points, or about 0.35%, to 7,123.14, its lowest since February and echoing the dismal session overnight for major US markets. On Wall Street ...