Stock prices were up in London heading into the afternoon on Thursday, with Anglo American leading the charge on confirming it was ?reviewing? a takeover bid from its larger Australian rival BHP Group.The FTSE 100 index was up 54.22 points, 0.7%, at 8,094.60. The FTSE 250 was down 20.05 points, 0.1%, at 19,699.32, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.33 of a point at 755.02.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.7% a

Investors in London bought at the open on Thursday, looking ahead to US GDP data this afternoon, while Anglo American shares jumped after it confirmed that it was ?reviewing? a takeover bid from its larger Australian rival BHP Group.The FTSE 100 index opened up 33.81 points, 0.4%, at 8,074.19. The FTSE 250 was down 98.85 points, 0.5%, at 19,620.52, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.60 of a point, 0

£346 million sale agreedShare buyback worth £100 million plannedHigher margin distribution now the focusInchcape?s (INCH) shares revved up 4.5% to 730p on news the global automotive distributor has agreed to sell its UK car retail operations to a US rival for £346 million in cash.The disposal, which follows a strategic review launched in January, will allow Inchcape to focus on its higher margi

London?s FTSE 100, the outperformer on Friday as investors fretted over a possible escalation in the Middle East, was the laggard on Monday in the wake of Iran?s strikes on Israel over the weekend, as the blue-chip index?s oil majors tracked crude prices lower.Large-cap benchmarks in Frankfurt and Paris, which fell on Friday, were on the up on Monday. Stocks in New York tumbled at the end of last

Stocks in London slumped as increased geopolitical tensions and interest rate uncertainty added to investor nerves ahead of the US jobs report.The FTSE 100 index was down 77.03 points, 1.0%, at 7,898.86. The FTSE 250 was down 202.97 points, 1.0%, at 19,670.22, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.61 points, 0.5%, at 738.97.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.9% at 789.74, the Cboe UK 250 was down 1.0% at 17,12

London?s FTSE 100 underperformed European peers on Wednesday morning, with wider sentiment taking a hit as investors re-think the Federal Reserve interest rate outlook in the face of robust US data.The FTSE 100 index opened down 37.00 points, 0.5%, at 7,898.09. The FTSE 250 was down 72.68 points, 0.4%, at 19,641.21, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.83 of a point, 0.1%, at 741.57.The Cboe UK 100 wa

London?s FTSE 100 traded solidly higher at the start of the second quarter, boosted by oil majors and gold miners, ahead of UK data shortly.The FTSE 100 index opened up 48.35 points, 0.6%, at 8,000.97. The FTSE 250 was up 75.55 points, 0.4%, at 19,960.28, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.78 points, 0.5%, at 747.04.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5% at 800.00, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,393.65, and t

Many investors had high hopes going into 2024. The market?s robust first-quarter rally still managed to surprise them. Resilient corporate profits, enthusiasm around AI and hopes that the Fed will cut rates have given investors plenty of reasons to keep on buying and keep buying they have in the run-in to Easter.Everything from stocks to bitcoin to gold have marched to new records in the first qua

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

The FTSE 100 came off session lows but still struggled to find its groove heading into Tuesday afternoon, with share price falls for miners meaning it underperformed continental peers.The FTSE 100 index was up just 3.00 points at 7,920.57. The FTSE 250 was up a more convincing 90.13 points, 0.5%, at 19,703.66, while the AIM All-Share was down just 0.02 of a point at 737.24.The Cboe UK 100 was marg

Blue-chip stocks in London were boosted on Friday by a favourable Bank of England interest rate outlook, although mid-caps inched down and trade elsewhere was mixed as New York stocks were largely down.The FTSE 100 index climbed 48.37 points, 0.6%, at 7,930.92, its best closing level in over a year. The FTSE 250 slipped 16.99 points, 0.1%, at 19,724.32, and the AIM All-Share ended down 1.12 points

Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc buys over 10,000 sharesInchcape CEO Nigel Stein makes the most of strong resultsLikewise CEO offloads £2.5 million sharesAmanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva (AV.) has bought 10,597 shares at 474p for a total value of £50,241 along with her husband Kenneth Blanc who has bought 17,121 shares at 468p for a total value of £80,242 on 7 March.The purchases come after the insurance giant

London?s FTSE 100 achieved a minor gain on Thursday, after a somewhat mixed US inflation reading in the afternoon.The year-on-year core personal consumption expenditure index grew at a slower pace in January, though monthly growth picked up.The FTSE 100 index inched up 5.04 points, 0.1%, at 7,630.02. The FTSE 250 rose 41.29 points, 0.2%, at 19,054.87, and the AIM All-Share ended down 1.54 points,

The world?s biggest stock market by market capitalisation, America, is making headlines as it sets new all-time highs and the second largest arena, China, is making them for the wrong ones, as the Shanghai Composite index is no higher now than it was in 2007, thanks to a soggy economy and a spectacular property bust. But perhaps the biggest surprise to many investors will be the renaissance of the

The gender wealth gap is alive and kicking something highlighted at the start of the year by headlines warning women that, on average, they?ll have to work for a whopping 19 additional years if they want to retire with the same pension as their male counterparts.Shocking statistics aside the picture isn?t altogether straightforward. Women do have money, they do save and looking back over the past

Stock prices in London inched up on Monday as wider European markets lacked direction while US markets were closed for George Washington?s birthday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 16.79 points, 0.2%, at 7,728.50. The FTSE 250 ended up 24.97 points, 0.1%, at 19,216.90, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.45 points, 0.3%, at 756.33.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.3% at 773.62, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.2% a

H1 orders softened 1.1%Sales guidance downgradedCost cuts underpin profit forecastSofa specialist DFS Furniture (DFS) has trimmed its sales guidance for the year to June 2024 by roughly £40 million to reflect weaker than expected demand in a ?challenging? living room and upholstered furniture market.However, shares in the Doncaster-headquartered retailer rose almost 1.5% to 112.4p after the firm

Having hammered the insurance industry for its practice of ?walking up? renewal prices for existing car and home policyholders, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has a new target in its sights ? the motor finance market.Firms which generate revenue from providing motor finance include Close Brothers (CBG), Inchcape (INCH), S&U (SUS) and Secure Trust Bank (STB).In 2021, the regulator banned com

In this third part of our investor survey, we asked some of the UK?s leading fund managers which sectors or stocks they thought were the most promising for 2024.The responses were as varied as they were thought-provoking, with only a couple of managers singling out technology stocks.As before we would like to thank all those who took part for sharing their views, and we hope readers enjoy them. WH

European equities ended lower on Friday, though the pound and euro climbed, as Federal Reserve interest rate expectations swung to-and-fro after contrasting US data in the afternoon.A stronger employment report meant some rethought their rate cut expectations for March. Interest rate nerves were soothed later, however, after an underwhelming reading of the US service economy.Among individual share