London's FTSE 100 edged 0.21% higher to 7,356.94 points on the last full trading day before Christmas, as investors welcomed news that the Omicron variant may not be as severe as previous strains.Citing data from an Oxford University laboratory study, drugs giant AstraZeneca (AZN) said a three dose course of its Covid-19 vaccine is effective against the highly transmissible new strain.This...

The FTSE 100 finished a rather directionless Friday in the red on continuing worries over Brexit and with the S&P 500 falling as investors fretted about the fate of a US stimulus package.At the market close, the FTSE 100 was down 0.33% at 6,529.18, while the FTSE 250 softened 0.89% to 20,116.29.NEWS ROUND UPBetfair and Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) said a Kentucky court had...

London's FTSE 100 traded marginally higher on Friday, with the blue chip benchmark struggling for direction after the European Union's chief negotiator said there were 'just hours left' to strike a Brexit deal.Hopes have been rising steadily over the course of the week that a 'thin' deal will be reached and a no-deal scenario can be avoided.Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics reported...

UK stocks opened higher on Friday as the European Union's chief negotiator said there were 'just hours left' to strike a Brexit deal. Hopes have been rising steadily over the course of the week that a 'thin' deal will be reached and a no-deal scenario can be avoided.Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics reported a fall in November retail sales of 3.8% as shoppers stayed home during the...

London's FTSE 100 sheds 65 points to trade at 6,936 early on Wednesday, dragged down by weakness in oil, gas and mining stocks.Hard-pressed sofas seller DFS Furniture (DFS) rallies 7.3% to 182.4p as it leaves full year guidance unchanged, holds the half year dividend at 3.7p and flags a 'strengthening trading performance' across the first half to January and through February into March.There's...

London's FTSE 100 starts the week on a quiet note, nudging 6 points higher to 7,230.5 on Monday with economic news thin on the ground.However, engineer GKN (GKN) rises 8.6p or 2% to 443.7p as Melrose Industries (MRO) raises its takeover offer from £7.4bn to £8.1bn. The engineering turnaround specialist states the new bid represents its final offer and won't be increased under any...

The FTSE 100 opens slightly lower at 7,310.2 despite widespread strength in the mining sector. The US and North Korea are planning military exercises today which could stoke the simmering tensions between the two countries.Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers (RAT) ticks up 0.65% to £27.88 after confirming weekend reports that it is in exclusive merger talks with stockbroker Smith &...

A handful of technology stocks, a make-up supplier, a mortgage adviser and a pharmaceutical firm are among a list of smaller company shares expected perform strongly over the coming few months.The nine featured companies are highlights from a quantitative number-crunching exercise conducted by analysts at N+1 Singer.The stockbroker regularly scans the lower end of the market cap spectrum for...

Cloud-based video editing and broadcast platform developer Forbidden Technologies (FBT:AIM) has signed its first customer in the emerging eSports space. The agreement is with eSports competition organiser Gfinity (GFIN:AIM) which will use Forbidden's Forscene platform to allow highlights of its Elite series of events to be screened on social media. Analysts believes the eSports industry could...

AIM-quoted eSports minnow Gfinity (GFIN:AIM) will run the Forza Racing Championship Xbox competition for technology giant Microsoft under an exclusive partnership deal.Shares in Gfinity, which promotes 'live' computer gaming tournaments around the world, jumped more than 10% on the news to 21.25p. The business is now valued by the market at £33.5m.We believe investors should watch from the...

Annual global revenues from esports are set to explode by 2020, with 200%-plus growth predicted by analysts. This is down to increasing numbers of people not only playing, but also tuning in to watch. The League of Legends World Championship is the world's biggest esports tournament with prize money topping $2m in 2016. Staggeringly, 43m people watched the finals, according to researchers at...

Cineworld's footie fillipthe european football championship could present an opportunity for cinema group Cineworld (CINE) at 562.5p, according to Berenberg. Contrary to popular belief, analysis shows average admissions have been 9% higher during the past three tournaments. Films like The Secret Life of Pets could be a big hit this summer. (EP)Go-Ahead stallsShares in transport business...

Financials and leisure stocks hold back the FTSE 100 in early deals as the blue chip index treads water at 6,279. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is the blue chip index's biggest faller, down 1.7% to 226p, alongside Barclays (BARC), 1.1% lower at 178p.Leisure stocks TUI Travel (TUI), EasyJet (EZY) and InterContinental Hotels (IHG) are also among the laggards, posting losses of around 1.0%...

Iron ore miners and oil stocks extend gains from Monday's session, heading up London's blue chip benchmark for a second day in a row. The FTSE 100 trades 0.75% higher at 6,320 on the continuing commodities rally, gaining further support from banks and industrials.Industrial metals producers BHP Billiton (BLT), up 2.6% to 909p and Rio Tinto (RIO), up 2.6% to £20.68, lead the way.Oil major...

Pubs, takeaways and gambling companies will be hoping for a pick-up in sales this summer as Brits celebrate three months of world-class sporting events.To help you pick a winner - and avoid having your dreams crushed in the same way as the England football team - we've analysed the impact on listed companies from the 2012 Olympics and other major sports tournaments to come up with a team of...

'We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another.' So wrote Klaus Schwab in January, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. 'In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.'Schwab was referring to what he calls the 'fourth...

A revenue warning from eSports events business Gfinity (GFIN:AIM) looks to be the final nail in the coffin for the £10 million cap, whose shares crash 10.4% to 10.8p as its operating loss widens.The group, which hosts video gaming competitions, says full year revenue is likely to be below market expectations because it's 'difficult to quantify' the timing of potential sponsorship agreements...

London shares began on a mildly negative note ahead of a raft of inflation data due out mid morning, while Europe is heavily lower after a series of terror attacks in Brussels this morning.The FTSE 100 index nudge around 15 points, or roughly 0.3%, lower to 6,167.Thomas Cook (TCG) falls 5% to 87.8p in the wake of this morning's deadly explosions in Brussels' airport and metro system. The...

UK markets start the week in the red with politics and commodity volatility driving sentiment.The FTSE 100 dips 43 points (0.7%) to 6,292 and the FTSE 250 loses 90 points, or 0.5% to 17,100.Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is one of the few winners on Monday morning as Playtech (PTEC) abandons a proposed tie-up with trading platform Plus500 (PLUS:AIM).Odey Asset Management, a shareholder in...

Shares in eSports business Gfinity (GFIN:AIM) tumble 11% to 21.8p after it reports a wider pre-tax loss despite more than doubling its revenue in the last financial year.The £19 million cap, which specialises in video gaming on a competitive level, recorded a pre-tax loss of £3.58 million in the 12 months to 30 June compared with a loss of £345,039 a year earlier.The group says this...