UK stocks shrugged off concerns over the country’s vaccine programme to continue their upward march so far this week. Medicines regulator the MHRA this afternoon stated under-30s should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca (AZN) jab where possible due to concerns over the link between the vaccine and blood clots. While this is better than an outright ban on use of the vaccine for ...

London’s FTSE 100 continued its strong momentum this week with a 0.8% gain to 6,877.86 by Wednesday lunchtime, following on from yesterday’s 1.3% increase, as reopening optimism grows among investors. With the UK’s lockdown set for another round of easing next Monday, businesses are gearing up for a resumption of trading that saw a flash PMI reading surge last month. The latest IHS ...

Shares in Hilton Food (HFG) fattened up 3.9% to £11.62 as the food packing specialist’s annual profits smashed recently upgraded estimates with a boost from nourishing sales growth from Australia. Covid winner Hilton said lockdowns and travel restrictions had resulted in more cooking at home in 2020, creating higher demand for its products, though Panmure Gordon cautioned the impact of any ...

The UK’s major stocks started strongly on Wednesday as the nation starts its Moderna vaccine rollout, the third approved for Brits, reigniting reopening optimism among investors. With the UK’s lockdown set for another round of easing next Monday, businesses are gearing up for a resumption of trading that saw a flash PMI reading surge last month. Later today investors will get an idea of the ...

Shares in Hilton Food (HFG) fattened up 1% to £17.76 on Thursday after the red meat and fish packing specialist confirmed it continues to benefit from consumers eating out less often due to the pandemic. Despite the uncertainties being created by the global Covid crisis, broker Shore Capital believes its full year estimates could prove conservative and sees scope for upgrades from Hilton Food ...

Markets in the US and Europe moved lower on Thursday as technology-led declines continued on disappointment at the US Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep rates low for an extended period. In the UK, the Bank of England echoed the Fed by keeping interest rates near zero and warning of an ‘unusually uncertain’ recovery ahead. The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.47% lower at 6,049.92, sentiment ...

The FTSE 100 slipped lower on Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s announcement last night that it was likely to keep interest rates near zero for several years while the global economy recovers from Covid-19. At 11.25, the blue chip benchmark was 50.4 points, or 0.83%, lower at 6,028.11. Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would ‘maintain an accommodative stance of ...

UK shares tracked declines on Asian stock markets in early trade on Thursday as the lack of new stimulus measures by the US Federal Reserve left investors disappointed ahead of a Bank of England policy meeting. The benchmark FTSE 100 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 were both sharply lower in opening deals with banks, miners and automakers leading the declines. The FTSE 100 was off by around ...

David Smith, fund manager of Henderson High Income Trust (HHI), argues the lockdown losers that dragged on performance in the half to June will emerge from the Covid-19 crisis in ‘a strong position relative to their competition’. And despite having been through a period of dividend suspensions, deferrals and cuts, Henderson High Income forecasts an increase in the 2020 total ...

The FTSE 100 got off to a slow start on Thursday, falling 0.7% to 6,022 over concerns about a new spike in coronavirus cases. The World Health Organisation warned yesterday that the pandemic is far from over, as the largest daily rise in global cases was reported in the last 24 hours. Asian stock markets were down, with China’s Shanghai Composite down 0.55%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ...

Food prices are likely to go up as a result of pressure on the food supply chain linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Companies who can get food products to the consumer, either manufacturers supplying retailers or supermarkets being able to provide adequate stocks, could be winners from an investment perspective. We’ll discuss the situation in this article along with two stock ideas to play ...

Despite the wider stock market’s recovery still leaving it some way below its pre-crisis levels, some stocks in the FTSE 350 have hit record highs over the past month, especially in the healthcare and food sectors. The largest company to hit this milestone is pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN), which recently £86.27 as it agreed to manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine being ...

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 ...

Investing is about putting your money to work in the markets over a long period. So while markets are presently experiencing large share price movements up and down, it is important to look beyond the current volatility and continue to feed money into your investment account. As well as remaining invested through periods of volatility the looming end of the tax year provides an opportunity to ...

UK stocks opened substantially higher on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 up 212.3 points at 5,658.32 early on, after US lawmakers reached agreement on a $2trn stimulus package to buffer the world’s biggest economy from the still-spreading coronavirus. Housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) perked up 3.7% to £17.55 even after it scrapped one planned dividend payment and postponed another as it braces for ...

Although vegan diets have existed for thousands of years, practiced by many societies for religious and health reasons, veganism is now one of the fastest growing trends in the food industry. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK are taking part in this month’s ‘Veganuary’ challenge in a bid to benefit health and wellbeing while simultaneously combating climate change. Veganism’s ...

Smaller companies in the UK have been an unloved asset class since the 2016 Brexit vote, yet sentiment has recently started to improve. One savvy way to profit from this situation is to buy Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust (MTU). Despite a recent advance in the share price, the trust remains good value trading on a 7.9% discount to the value of its underlying assets. It also ...

Backing companies where directors have ‘skin in the game’ can potentially be a decent strategy for investing. After all, company directors know the state of their business better than anyone. Many investors like to keep a keen eye out for those that are buying and selling and often follow their lead in and out of those companies. Every Thursday, Shares will roundup the biggest ...

London’s FTSE 100 shed 20.1 points to trade at 7,215.7 early on Tuesday. Markets were mixed as Chinese shares slipped on the back of weak producer price data and investors lost their appetite for the pharma, tobacco and utilities sectors. On the currency markets, the pound eased back against the dollar, falling 0.16% to $1.236. In corporate news, Galliford Try (GFRD) galloped 15.6% higher to ...

The FTSE 100 starts a smidge higher on Wednesday at 7,203.64 with gains in the mining sector offset by weak utilities. Sterling is fairly steady ahead of a series of votes by MPs later to try and find a consensus on Brexit. Ailing department store Debenhams (DEB) jumps 52% after Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct (SPD) proposes a takeover bid worth £61.4m. Sports Direct rose 0.4%. The deal would be ...