European stocks were mostly higher early Wednesday, shaking off a robust US inflation reading, though the FTSE 100 was fractionally lower as the pound sat just below the $1.28 mark following better UK gross domestic product data.The CAC 40 in Paris and DAX 40 in Frankfurt traded at record highs, with the latter topping the 18,000 mark for the first time.The FTSE 100 index slipped just 1.19 of a po

Leading UK shares recorded a decent gain on Monday following an up and down day of trading after taking their cue from a strong start on Wall Street.The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed 0.35% higher to 6,963.12, which comes after US stocks opened positively ahead of a big week for company earnings across the Atlantic.A total of 181 companies on the S&P 500 announce earnings this week and the index g

London's FTSE 100 swung into positive territory with a 0.13% gain to 6,947.51 by lunchtime on Monday, after a volatile morning in which the index was initially weighed down by a stronger pound and concerns over the Covid situation in India.Sentiment was bolstered however by some positive company updates, while earnings upgrades among midcaps helped the more domestically focused FTSE 250 to rise 0.

UK shares made a hesitant start to the new week, with a strong pound holding back export-oriented shares and lower oil prices knocking the energy sector.Brent crude fell 1% to $65.4 a barrel and the pound gained 0.3% against the US dollar to $1.39.Overnight trading in Asia was mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.3% and China's Composite index losing 0.95%.At 9am the FTSE 100 index of leading s

UK stocks closed modestly up as markets closed ahead of the Christmas holiday with news emerging on Thursday that a Brexit breakthrough is near.Speculation was rife that UK and EU negotiators were poised to sign a Brexit trade deal at long last giving investors hope that they may have a clearer understanding of where things stand before the 31 December deadline.At the 12.30pm close on Christmas Ev

UK stocks opened higher on Thursday amid increasing signs that the UK and EU were poised to sign a post-Brexit trade deal.At around 8.30am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index moved 0.3% higher to 6,516.98.The more domestically-focused FTSE 250, considered a barometer for Brexit sentiment, gained 0.54% to 20,408.16.Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to hold a press conference later on Thursday morn

London's FTSE 100 was on the front foot on Monday, the blue chip benchmark advancing 67 points higher to 7,184.2 early on, consolidating gains from Friday and building on a positive session in Asia with investors braced for a wave of monetary and fiscal stimulus.Despite ongoing warnings about the impact of a no-deal Brexit, investors focused on President Trump's reassurances that Washington and Ch

Clinical trial services provider Ixico (IXI:AIM) is under pressure as it posts a significantly widened full year operating loss of £2.9m due to higher costs. Shares in Ixico have fallen 12% to 33p.The company supports clinical studies for serious diseases such as dementia.Ixico blames costs incurred by the acquisition of Optimal Medicine and its planned investment in digital technologies, as well

Addiction treatment specialist Indivior's (INDV) shares marched almost 20% higher to 359.6p on 17 August 2016 thanks to news about a phase III clinical trial.The late stage tests appear to prove the £2.3 billion cap's opioid addiction treatment works, moving it closer to market approval and $500 million of potential sales by 2020, according to stockbroker Numis.The market's very positive reaction

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 offshore ba

London shares stumble marginally lower in early trade on Monday with little news driven direction coming from corporates. Wall Street ended last week in positive territory and Europe's main markets have started the new week on a firmer footing, but the FTSE 100 index slips around 10 points to 6,389, with midcaps and smaller companies also dipping a fraction lower.Broadcaster UTV Media (UTV) is up

Shares in London stay flat in early trading on Friday, taking a breather after a strong recovery on Thursday when the FTSE 100 rose by more than 3.5%. In early deals the UK benchmark index is fractionally off about 6 points at 6,186, while the midcap FTSE 250 makes modest 7 point gains to 16,927.A short time ago the FTSE 100 was up 10.46 points, or 0.17%, at 6,202.49. The FTSE 250 was 55.95 points

Stock markets across Europe suffer steep falls in early trade on Monday as the Greece debt crisis intensifies amid a swathe of capital controls imposed by Greek leaders and calls for a referendum on bailout terms. French, German and Spanish stock markets all start the week's trading deep in the red, while the EU-wide Euro Stoxx 50 index slumps close to 3.5%, just about keeping its head above the 3

UK markets again drift lower in opening deals as investors mull a weak end to Wall Street trading and a similarly fade out on Asian markets overnight, although gains by oil giant BP (BP.) limited today's declines. The FTSE 100 index is trading 0.3% off at 6,482 in early action as China's economy showed renewed weakness and crude oil remained below $50 a barrel. Britain's mid caps struggle also, th

London's blue chip benchmark opens up 18.63 points at 6,749.9, as investors continue to bet on further stimulus ahead in the eurozone, with miners including Antofagasta (ANTO) and Petropavlovsk (POG) in demand.One of the biggest risers early on is consumer payments platform Paypoint (PAY), which perks up 5.5% to 976.5p as excitement mounts ahead of tomorrow's interim results. Investors will be on

Investors were confronted by renewed volatility this autumn reflected in the performance of the UK's headline index. Nudging year highs above 6,900 in early September the FTSE 100 collapsed to less than 6,200 in mid-October as worries about global economic growth dominated the agenda before recovering to the 6,600 mark as sentiment improved.The good news is there are two main ways of profiting fro

CLS looks too cheapIt's a good time to gain exposure to European property investor CLS' (CLI) pipeline, which includes assets forming part of Vauxhall's redevelopment in South London. At £13.10 a share the stock trades at a 13.2% discount to Liberum's expected £15.09 net asset value per share at December 2014. (MD)Innovation's poundingInvestors in insurance outsourcing software supplier Innovati

Rising demand for new and improved drugs has created an opportunity that appears to be stronger today than it has ever been. The global pharmaceutical industry will be worth $400 billion a year by 2017, up from $300 billion today, the World Health Organisation forecasts.Improving longevity mixed with rising lifestyle related-conditions in developed countries, such as type II diabetes, and a growin

Niche drug maker Shire (SHP) has finally cracked under pressure and agreed to a merger with US pharmaceuticals group AbbVie (ABBV:NYSE). News that the board has recommended a £53.19 per share cash and shares offer sees Shire's stock rise 1.9% to £48.97, implying that the market sees this as a done deal. The agreement, which values the UK company at £32 billion, appears to have ended a drawn out

Technology and healthcare investor Imperial Innovations (IVO:AIM) falls 1% to 442.8p on a fourth portfolio company going public in the past nine months.Life sciences tool-maker Abzena is the latest of its companies to target growing sentiment for healthcare. It raised £20 million and shares will start trading on AIM this Thursday (10 Jul) at 80p each, valuing the company at £77.9 million.Imperia