The FTSE 100 was lower on Monday at midday as the oil price declined despite high tensions between Iran and Israel, while the FTSE 250 was a tad higher.The FTSE 100 index was down 33.43 points, 0.4%, at 7,962.15. The FTSE 250 was up 12.21 points, 0.1%, at 19,733.45, and the AIM All-Share was down 4.01 points, 0.5%, at 751.90.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 795.86, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally d

Whenever there is a discussion about ?quality? UK industrial stocks, the name Spectris (SXS) is often thrown into the ring although we suspect many investors, while being familiar with the company in a general sense, have little idea what it actually does.Looking on Stockopedia, the company has a 99th percentile quality ranking, which backs up its reputation, but it is classified as a large-cap te

We are weeks away from the end of the tax year and inevitably there is plenty of focus on ISAs ? whether that relates opening an account or using up existing allowances.In all the hoo-hah it?s easy to lose sight of just what a compelling vehicle this is for investors. Whatever you are investing for, whether it?s the cost of the kids? education, to supplement your income in retirement or to fund ho

No-one could accuse the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of sitting on its hands, least of all this year.As well as investigating several high-profile mergers ? including this month alone Aviva (AV.)/AIG Life, SpreadEx/Sporting Image, RedBird IMI/Telegraph Media Group, Pharmacy2U/Lloyds Direct and Hitachi/Thales ? the regulator has been busy looking into pricing in the funeral market (again

Stocks in London climbed on hopes earnings from two of the biggest names in US business would spark further upward momentum in equities.The FTSE 100 index closed up 33.57 points, 0.4%, at 7,666.31. The FTSE 250 ended up 38.34 points, 0.2%, at 19,349.50, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.61 points, 0.6%, at 754.89.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 766.38, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 16,807.59,

European equities headed into Tuesday afternoon on the front foot, while equities in New York are called to open a touch lower, as events in the US over the next two days take centre-stage.Tech earnings and Fed decision are on the docket over the next on Tuesday and Wednesday.?The next two days will test investor sentiment thanks to the publication of financial results from two of the biggest name

Equity prices in Europe were on the decline heading into Wednesday afternoon, with the mood in London hurt by a slight uptick in UK inflation, while shares in mining and luxury goods firms were among those hurt by tepid Chinese economic data.The UK data means traders may need to re-think their expectations of a May interest rate cut. In the eurozone, meanwhile, the European Central Bank president

The US has been one of the most prosperous regions for investors over the past decade or so, with its stock market offering access to a range of exciting companies taking on the world. Investors are right to have large exposure to the US but they need to keep an eye on valuations.The Nasdaq 100 trades on 28 times forward earnings and the S&P 500 trades on 20 times forward earnings, according to da

Over the last 15 years the electronics and electronic equipment space, home to some of the UK market's highest-quality engineering and capital goods firms, is the best performing sector in the FTSE 350 with an 11.7% compound annual return.The industrial engineering sector is not too far behind with its own annualised return of 9.7%. For comparison, the FTSE All-Share's annualised return over the s

First-half results from aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce (RR.) on 3 August will be an opportunity for its new boss Tufan Erginbilgic to add to this week's positive trading update that demonstrated that his tough talk around reviving the fortunes of the company is yielding early results.Erginbilgic was certainly in no mood to sugar coat the company's problems when he started his tenure in January

Stocks in London edged into the green at midday on Thursday after the US debt ceiling deal was approved by the House of Representatives, defying negative news from the UK housing market.The FTSE 100 index was up 28.28 points, 0.4%, at 7,474.42. The FTSE 250 was up 112.02 points, 0.6%, at 18,834.92, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.25 of a point at 783.02.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 746.19, the Cb

Share prices were on the rise in Europe on Thursday, while gold was sharply lower, amid a risk-on atmosphere following the passage by the US House of Representatives of a bill that will allow Washington to avoid a disastrous debt default.The FTSE 100 index opened up 39.34 points, 0.5%, at 7,485.48. The FTSE 250 was up 44.51 points, 0.2%, at 18,767.41, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.82 points, 0.2%

Stocks in London closed lower on Wednesday as Chinese manufacturing PMI fared worse than expected and poorly received company news knocked investor sentiment.The FTSE 100 index closed down 75.93points, or 1.0% at 7,446.14 on Wednesday. The FTSE 250 ended down 84.47 points, or 0.5%, at 18,722.90. The AIM All-Share closed down 3.99 points, or 0.5%, at 782.77.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 1.0% at 743.44

Stocks were in the red in London at midday Wednesday as the looming US debt ceiling bill vote continues to weight on investors.The FTSE 100 index was down 9.62 points, 0.1%, at 7,512.45. The FTSE 250 was down 30.59 points, 0.2%, at 18,776.78, and the AIM All-Share was down 4.22 points, 0.5%, at 782.54.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 749.88, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 16,342.03, and the Cboe

Nervousness over the passage of a bill to prevent the US government from defaulting on its debt, combined with weak economic data from China, pushed share prices lower in London early Wednesday.The FTSE 100 index was down 35.65 points, 0.5%, at 7,486.42. The FTSE 250 was down 80.93 points, 0.4%, at 18,726.44, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.06 points, 0.4%, at 783.70.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6%

Equities in London were rattled by the continued deadlock in US debt ceiling talks, while stubborn UK consumer inflation data raised fears of further rises in the cost of borrowing.UK bond yields jumped to their highest level since October 2022 when the infamous mini-budget of the then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng sparked turmoil in the markets.The FTSE 100 index slumped 135.85 points, 1.8%, to 7,627

Suman works as a junior doctor at an NHS hospital in Liverpool. He came to the UK in 2015 but started his investment journey in 2010 while he was living in India and where he invested in Indian equities.'I started investing for myself primarily, and the reason I started was to try and get significant returns. I didn't initially have a long-term strategy in place, all I thought is I can put some mo

AdmiralInvestors are hoping the insurer doesn't deliver the scale of bad news served up by Direct LineOver the past year, a nasty profit warning by Direct Line (DLG), the cancellation of its dividend and suspension of a share buyback programme have put the shivers into anyone holding shares in the general insurance sector. The company was hit by a rise in claims and an increase in costs associated

Many people believe that cash is a safe way of saving, but when it comes to the long term, cash is not king. Over the past two decades average UK savings rates have been going one way - down. Since about 2012, average interest on cash savings have been about 2% a year or less.This decline could be managed during the years of low inflation but emerging from the pandemic has turned all that on its h

One of the most compelling attributes of exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs, is they allow investors to create a diversified investment portfolio from scratch rapidly, easily and inexpensively.If you bought a product tracking the MSCI World index you could arguably do this at the click of a single button - and by doing so you would gain exposure to more than 1,500 stocks. But that index is