UK stocks soared on Wednesday after the chancellor promised greater fiscal support for struggling businesses, spurring a major rally in bank shares. At the same time a decision Saudi Arabia to reduce output by more than expected sent Brent crude futures up 1% to $54 per barrel, their highest level since February 2020, sparking a rally in major oil stocks. By the close the FTSE 100 index of ...

UK stocks surged on Wednesday after the chancellor promised more help to struggling businesses and hopes were raised for greater US fiscal stimulus, spurring a major rally in bank shares. At the same time a decision Saudi Arabia to reduce output by more than expected sent Brent crude futures up 1% to $54 per barrel, their highest level since February 2020, sparking a rally in major oil ...

It is unlikely that too many investors will make listening to more announcements from regulators one of their New Year’s resolutions, but no-one could accuse the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of playing Scrooge, at least not this December. Granted, the PRA may have wounded a few income-seekers’ portfolios with its declaration in late March that the Big Five FTSE 100 banks should not ...

Stocks eased on Friday as prime minister Johnson warned of a ‘strong possibility’ that the UK would eave the EU on 1 January without a trade deal. The two sides have set a deadline of Sunday to resolve their differences over fishing rights, a ‘level playing field’ and ongoing regulation. At 8.30am the FTSE 100 index was down 29 points or 0.4% at 6,571, pulled lower by telecoms, house ...

In a surprise move, Britain’s biggest high-street lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) announced it had picked relative outsider Charlie Nunn to take over from outgoing chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio next year. Back in July the bank announced Horta-Osorio’s decision to depart next June, after 10 years in the top job, along with a change of chairman as the former head of UK Financial ...

London’s FTSE 100 edged 0.28% higher to 6,385.65 early on Monday morning as investors weighed optimism about a potential Covid-19 vaccine against fears of a more severe economic fallout from the pandemic as virus cases continue to rise. Investors continued to worry about a potential no-deal Brexit as the 31 December end to the transition period nears, with few signs of a trade deal being ...

When we analyse the performance of high-yielding stocks, more often than not investors tend to lose more on the value of their holdings than they receive in dividends, which begs the question why own them in the first place? This is particularly relevant to companies in the FTSE 100 which are widely perceived by investors to be rock solid sources of income. Classic examples of companies which ...

It may seem churlish to worry, given the enthusiastic response the markets are giving to news of the Phase III Covid-19 vaccine trial by Pfizer and BioNTech, but investors need to keep an eye on Turkey once more. The Turkish lira is on the slide and Ankara is facing what could yet become its second economic crisis in just three years. Thankfully the situation is not yet comparable with 2018 ...

Amid all the wild swings in the stock market over the past week, it has emerged that a number of bosses at big firms used the opportunity to either buy or sell shares. The biggest deal to note comes from FTSE 100 trainers-to-tracksuits retailer JD Sports (JD.) and its executive chairman Peter Cowgill, who sold £19 million worth of shares at a price of 745.6p each. JD Sports said Cowgill ...

Shares in the FTSE 350 banking index, which in recent weeks has plumbed multi-decade lows, jumped on press reports that talks were under way with the Prudential Regularity Authority (PRA) to resume dividend payments in 2021. In March 2020, the regulator asked the banks to suspend dividends and buybacks until the end of the year. In June, it said it would assess firms’ distribution plans from ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Tuesday’s session in negative territory, giving back earlier modest gains as investors fretted over a resurgence of Covid-19 cases and the economic impact of fresh restrictions, not to mention waning hopes of a pre-election stimulus package in the US. By the close of play, the blue chip benchmark was 1.1% lower at 5,728.99, while the FTSE 250 ended down 1.5% at ...

Having continued to fall early on amid persistent concerns about rising global coronavirus cases, the FTSE 100 turned positive by lunchtime as investors focused their attentions on better-than-expected earnings updates from market bellwethers BP (BP.) and HSBC (HSBA). Investors were also optimistic that Wall Street would claw back some of Monday’s losses after US stock markets suffered their ...

Shares in HSBC (HSBA), the UK’s largest bank by market value, continued their recent rally, topping the FTSE 100 index with a gain of 6% to 338p after it posted better than expected third quarter profits and held out the prospect of a 2020 dividend payment early next year. For the three months to the end of September the bank reported an 11% fall in revenues to $11.9 billion and a 36% fall in ...

UK shares continued to fall on Tuesday as persistent concerns about rising global coronavirus cases offset better-than-expected earnings updates from market bellwethers BP (BP.) and HSBC (HSBA). The benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 5,782.65 in early trading, continuing its losses after a sharp drop yesterday as markets across the world fell significantly. US stock markets suffered their ...

The FTSE 100 rallied strongly through the late morning trading session on Friday to give bulls a glimmer of hope of closing a pretty dismal week for UK stocks on the front foot. Banks led the way after Barclays (BARC) posted better-than-expected earnings, although industrials, oil and aerospace were also in the ascendant. At 12.40pm, the benchmark FTSE 100 was up 1.5% at 5,874.84, while ...

It’s been a tough year for people who rely on their investments for income thanks to widespread dividend cuts. Income fund managers have now rejigged their portfolios to names which they believe will be dependable source of dividends or bond coupons going forward. Their changes make for interesting reading, particularly for anyone who prefers individual stocks to investment funds as it might ...

Various well-known stock market names with distressed share prices have attracted interest from third parties, potentially as a precursor to pushing for a change in strategy or making a takeover approach. Stakebuilding is a popular tactic used by large shareholders before making an offer for the company. It also reduces risks if there is a bidding war and the share price rises, as the ...

London’s FTSE 100 enjoyed a positive start to the week as investors clung onto a usually ignored piece of data out of China in the search for optimism, while  HSBC (HSBA) and Diageo (DGE) rallies also helped the index. For the fourth straight month Chinese industrial profits were on the rise, surging 19.1% in August year-on-year having been buoyed by a rise in commodities prices and ...

Shares in banking giant HSBC (HSBA) are up around 10% to 310p after its largest shareholder upped its stake in the business. Ping An Asset Management, the investment arm of Chinese insurance giant Ping An, has raised its holding in HSBC to 8% - from 7.95% previously – on the back of the company’s share price weakness. The move is a big vote of confidence in the bank from Ping An and has ...

London’s FTSE 100 enjoyed a positive start on Monday after Asian exchanges were boosted by positive Chinese industrial profit data and as HSBC (HSBA) jumped following the news a large investor has raised its stake in the beaten-down bank. At 8.30, the blue chip benchmark was 1.5% higher at 5,929.53, while the FTSE 250 was trading 0.9% higher at 17,194.20. Unloved banking behemoth HSBC rose ...