UK stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday, despite worries over further lockdowns should a second wave of global Covid-19 cases continue to gain momentum. Riding to the rescue was the housing sector, which rallied on the back of news the government may extend the Help to Buy scheme beyond December. The benchmark FTSE 100 closed up 24.38 points, or 0.4%, at 6,129.26, while the FTSE 250 ended ...

UK stocks were slightly lower on Tuesday, despite companies releasing a mixed bag of earnings updates that at least showed their performance improving as lockdowns were eased. Investors, however, remained wary of the possibility of further lockdowns, should a second wave of global Covid-19 cases continue to gain momentum. At 11.40, the benchmark FTSE 100 was off 5.9 points, or 0.1% lower, at ...

The FTSE 100 got off to a strong start on Tuesday thanks to progress with new US government stimulus increasing investor appetite for equities. The UK’s leading basket of stocks moved 0.59% higher to 6,149.26 shortly after trading began, mirroring the momentum seen overnight in US stock markets. Gold briefly hit a new record of $1,980 per ounce before easing back to $1,935 per ...

Online price comparison group Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) fell 6.9% to 322.4p on a mixed trading update this morning. The company reported a 22% decline in car insurance search volumes in April due to COVID-19, while its money business remained 'significantly suppressed' as provider appetite for lending tightened, and in travel insurance global restrictions meant there was no demand. The ...

London’s FTSE opened lower on Thursday as the UK government prepared to lift the two metre distancing rule in a bid to boost the economy. The blue chip benchmark’s jittery start followed the US Federal Reserve’s June FOMC meeting yesterday, where chairman Jerome Powell announced the FOMC expects there to be no rate increases until 2022 and forecast that the US economy will contract by ...

Income is a big motivating factor for people to invest in the markets. The idea of securing a regular stream of cash which can be used to pay the bills or reinvested to help boost capital returns is an attractive one. However, this income is not guaranteed and the last two months or so of dividend cuts, suspensions and deferrals have seen billions of pounds worth of payouts from UK stocks taken ...

The FTSE rallied 1.3% higher to 5,817.74 points on Friday after two days of losses as China reported its first rise in factory output so far in 2020, giving a boost to oil and mining shares. BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) traded almost 2% higher, while Anglo American (AAL) was 4% ahead and Rio Tinto (RIO) was up 3%. The midcap index was also strongly higher, up 1.4% to 15,625.9 ...

Comparison website Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) has committed to pay its final dividend for 2019, bucking a growing trend among companies who are cancelling or suspending payouts to preserve cash. Moneysupermarket declared an 8.61p per share payout alongside its full year results on 20 February but the dividend policy will remain under review for this year. The news will come as only a modest ...

WHAT’S IN THIS ARTICLE? We’ll run through the reasons why stocks have fallen, compare this sell-off to previous market corrections and consider why certain companies have been affected more than others. We will also look at the stocks that have risen in value during the market turmoil and finally we choose three shares to consider buying as long as you understand that their prices could ...

Price comparison site Moneysupermarket (MONY) is in full blown recovery mode on an encouraging set of full year results, rising 10.8% to 343.3p. The shares had come under pressure of late on concerns over stalling growth. Revenue was up 9% in 2019 as the company continues to make progress on its ‘Reinvent strategy’. Launched in February 2018, the plan is to create a more personalised ...

The FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% at 7,465 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.3% at 21,916 points, bucking the trend in Asian and Europe where share prices slipped on renewed coronavirus worries in Japan and South Korea. Brent oil prices were 0.3% lower at $58.6 and the pound was weaker by 0.3% at 1.288 to the dollar. Topping the FTSE leader board was knee to hip replacement medical device ...

UK stocks moved the same way as their Asian counterparts this morning, opening higher after the spread of coronavirus in China appeared to have slowed. Following a small fall in the number of new cases and amid hopes of fresh Chinese stimulus measures, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained by 0.4%, although China’s Shanghai Composite dipped ...

The FTSE 100 enjoyed strong gains on Friday morning, up 0.9% to 7,307.15 in early trading as hopes of a US-China trade deal were revived somewhat overnight. A quiet day for corporate news is dominated by boardroom appointments at two FTSE 100 firms. Developer and regeneration group St Modwen Properties (SMP) says that chief executive Mark Allan was leaving to take up the same role at Land ...

Investors in price-comparison firm Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) were far from 'money calm' on Thursday, sending its shares crashing 12% to 341p and wiping out three months of steady gains after it reported a 5% drop in revenues at its Money unit in the third quarter due to a lack of attractive offers. Money is the firm’s second-biggest revenue source after Insurance, accounting for over ...

The FSTE 100 index of leading stocks opened marginally higher on Thursday adding 0.1% to 7,173 points, helped by a weaker pound. In contrast the FTSE 250 index, which has enjoyed a strong run of late, gave up 0.5% to 20,087 points on the weaker exchange rate. Consumer-goods giant Unilever (ULVR) delivered steady sales growth of 2.9% in the third quarter driven in equal parts by price ...

UK markets were weaker on Thursday with the FTSE 100 down 0.5% to 7,545 despite a much-anticipated cut in US interest rates overnight. The major US stock indices lost more than 1% after the chairman of the US Federal Reserve said that the 0.25% rate cut did not mark the beginning of a lengthy easing cycle. The Hong Kong central bank cut rates by 0.25% in line with the Federal ...

Investors should always sit up and take notice when an analyst changes stance on a stock, particularly if they are upgrading to buy or downgrading to sell. It sends a strong message that something has changed with the investment case. Sometimes they change rating on a stock for valuation grounds. For example, a stock may have fallen in price to such an extent that they think it is now worth ...

Few of us love household admin and even if we did, even fewer of us are blessed with huge amounts of time to devote to it no matter the savings we could achieve. It’s no wonder that a new platform which could take the stress out of switching energy, broadband, insurance and financial services providers is generating excitement about the investment case at price comparison site GoCompare ...

Just weeks after serving up a very strong set of 2018 numbers  price comparison site Moneysupermarket (MONY) is at it again. First quarter results are significantly ahead of expectations sparking renewed share buying by investors. Up more than 9% at 380.2p in early trade, this would represent the stock's highest ever close, if it stays there. Before 2019 the share price's peak was 367p in ...

London’s FTSE 100 trades 18.5 points lower at 7,453 ahead of the Easter weekend with consumer goods goliath Unilever (ULVR) and tobacco manufacturer Imperial Brands (IMB) doing their best to lift the blue chip index, but having to battle weakness in household goods specialist Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) and miner Glencore (GLEN). Unilever improves 89p or 2% to £44.67 as first quarter (Q1) sales ...