UK stocks started the shortened trading week in good spirits with the FTSE 100 index of leading stocks up 60 points or 0.8% at midday to 7,432, having touched a new year-high of 7,457 points in early trading.Leadership shifted from consumer-oriented stocks in early deals to healthcare and engineering stocks by lunchtime.In Asia, shares fell overnight as investors continues to fret over the...

UK stocks began the shortened trading week on the front foot with the FTSE 100 up 65 points or 0.9% to a new year-high of 7,437 points in early trading.Leading the market higher were domestically oriented consumer and financial stocks including retailers AB Foods (ABF), Next (NXT) and high street bank Lloyds (LLOY).Shares in Asia fell overnight as investors continues to fret over the spread of...

A combination of weak UK consumer confidence, renewed fears about the Evergrande crisis and fretting about the outlook for interest rates put the FTSE 100 on the back foot on Friday.By midday the index was down 0.15% to 7,067.88.Drug maker AstraZeneca (AZN) said its prostate cancer drug in combination with abiraterone developed with MSD, had met the primary goal of a phase 3 trial trial. It...

The FTSE opens in negative territory as Asian and US stocks fell overnight due to North Korea appearing to ramp up its nuclear threat. It is considering a nuclear test of 'unprecedented scale' in the Pacific Ocean, according to North Korea's foreign minister.That news helped to drive up the gold price by nearly 0.5% to $1,297 per ounce.Also influencing markets is the movement in the pound...

Iodine producer Iofina (IOF:AIM) falls 2.7% to 8.6p as house broker finnCap warns it could be in for another 'difficult year' in 2017.A 20p price target, reduced from 24p, implies the shares could more than double but analyst Raymond Greaves admits the stock will 'tread water until prices start to recover'.Iodine is a relatively rare element used in several products and industries, including...

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...

Shares in London move higher in start of the week trading on Monday, hoping to shrug-off last week's modest performance, as key indices are driven by leisure-linked, pharmas and property stocks, although the resources space continues to act as a drag.The FTSE 100 index rallies around 40 points, or about 0.6%, to 6,1664.Disappointing Chinese trade data takes the shine off the mining sector with...

London stocks open the largely flat with a string of sagging house builders leading the blue-chip pack lower in what some market watchers believe will be a rather lacklustre session. Wall Street rose overnight Friday, and Asia was mixed this morning. Europe is firmly lower.The FTSE 100 index nudges just two points higher to 6,205, although that's better than either the midcaps or the smaller...

London equities begin the week on the front foot in early trade on Monday after a gruelling Friday session saw key indices plumb depths not seen for some time. Today's boost comes from reassuring action by China's central bank which has introduced measures to stem capital outflows. The People's Bank of China said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on...

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...

London shares make steady gains in early trade on Friday, matching gains made on Wall Street and in Asia overnight. , with midcaps making similar advances, the FTSE 250 up 104 points at 17,108.In corporate news, the decision by Glencore (GLEN) to scale back its zinc production has triggered a 6% rise in the metal price and given a spur to the mining sector. Supply cuts are needed in most...

Dubbed 'micro caps' by investors, the London stock market's smallest quoted company fry can be binary bets, as likely to 'turn turtle' as morph into a 'ten-bagger', the latter the holy grail of growth company investing. Yet despite their inherent risks, micro caps should form at least a portion of a well-diversified portfolio, since they offer potential for rapid-paced growth and abundant...

London shares slump into the red for a third straight day in early trade on Tuesday as ongoing concerns about Greece are added to but a hefty sell-off in China and caution ahead of inflation data.The FTSE 100 index is trading around 35 points lower, or 0.5%, at 6,675 early on, after hitting a three-month closing low of 6,710.52 on Monday.Midcaps and the wider market are similarly off, the FTSE...

London shares continue their weak run in early trade on Friday as investors cast wary eyes towards the Greece debt saga and OPEC's meeting later today. Supermarkets and retailers are on the back foot, matching losses overnight on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 index dips close on 50 points, or 0.5%, to 6,811, declines largely matched by UK midcaps.Mobile phones giant Vodafone (VOD) is among the...

Eagle Eye (EYE:AIM) 165pAIM is littered with strugglers chasing the mobile commerce dream but Eagle Eye is off to a decent start. SMS marketing and vouchers space has potential, but this is also high-risk territory.Earthport (EPO:AIM) 45.25pNew management is key to ending years of failure and cash calls. Making rapid progress to promised global platform for medium-sized cross-border payments...

Troubled FTSE 100 outsourcing giant Serco (SRP) falls 18.4% to 329.9p after warningit may need to raise money through a share placing and materially downgrade earnings guidance after a review of its business. We warned about the risks to the stock back in January.Investors are giving a wary thumbs up toquarterly resultsfrom oil major BP (BP.). The shares rise 1% to 493p as profits for the...

Foods-to-fashion giant Associated British Foods (ABF) advances 8.1% to £29.44 on plansto launch its budget clothing chain Primark in the US, starting with Boston in late 2015. The news coincides with interim results that show adjusted pre-tax profits 4% ahead at £468 million, as strong performances from Primark and groceries offset a profits slump at AB Sugar, hard hit by declining sugar...

The FTSE 100 enjoys a strong start to the new working week amid takeover talk and asset swaps in the pharmaceutical sector. The benchmark index is up 58 points to 6,683 with drug companies dominating the leaderboard. AstraZeneca (AZN) soars 7.6% to £40.70 on reports of takeover interest from Pfizer. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) rises 4.8% to £16.34 after sellingits cancer drugs business for $16...

Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) falls 5.8% to 909p after warningthat 'material revenues' from its new risk management system RMS(one) will not come until the financial year starting October 2014. Media sales are slightly lower than analysts forecasts, Euromoney trading conditions remain 'challenging' and there's no update on floating its 52.6%-owned property website Zoopla which may...

Despite the events in Ukraine prompting volatility, the FTSE 100 remains near its 1999 all-time closing peak of 6,930 and the FTSE 250 is also within striking distance of its all-time high.But the cynics and sceptics point out how the FTSE Aim All-Share, the broadest benchmark for the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) junior platform, still languishes miles below the 1,267 summit it reached in May...