London’s FTSE 100 rallied for the second successive day following Monday’s correction, climbing on hopes that central banks might maintain support for the global economy for longer given rising Covid infections as well as a number of positive corporate updates. By the close, the blue chip benchmark finished 1.7% higher at 6,998.28 points, its recovery from a tough start to the week ...

London’s FTSE 100 was in recovery mode on Wednesday after the recent big sell-off, gaining as several companies reported positive results. By midday, the blue chip benchmark was up 1.6% to 6,990.22 points. UK shares were buoyed as official figures showed the Government borrowed less than expected with the budget deficit coming in at £69.5 billion in the three months to June, helped by the ...

Shares in retail bellwether Next (NXT) topped the FTSE 100 leader board on Wednesday after the clothing and homeware purveyor increased full year profit guidance in a trading update pulled forward by a fortnight. Sales during the last 11 weeks have been ‘materially ahead of our expectations’ said Next, whose shares were bid up 9.7% to £81.14 on yet another profit upgrade and the news it is ...

UK stocks opened higher on Wednesday as official figures showed the Government borrowed less than expected with the budget deficit coming in at £69.5 billion in the three months to June, helped by the reopening of the economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast the deficit to reach £92.7 billion in March. Trading in Asia was strong with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.7% and ...

A  ‘profit warning’ is where a company’s actual profit is materially lower than forecasts set by sell-side analysts and can cause an investor acute portfolio pain; reports of an earnings ‘miss’, a material deterioration in trading or an unforeseen shock are typically punished by brutal share price slumps. Profit warnings come with the territory when putting money into equities and ...

The opening of indoor hospitality on 17 May was the penultimate step on the Government’s roadmap towards the complete removal of restrictions on 21 June, notwithstanding the threat of new variants. The UK’s successful vaccination programme and falling hospitalisations over recent months has spurred hopes for a strong second half economic rebound, with the Bank of England upgrading its 2021 ...

Shares in numerous retailers are flying high after upgrading earnings guidance or on relief they have come through the other side of the Covid crisis. Sector optimism centres on the successful vaccine rollout, easing unemployment concerns, and a strong housing market, but has the market now priced in too much good news? Yes, many people have built up cash savings during lockdowns, so there ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Thursday’s trading session 0.5% ahead at 7,076.17 points after the Bank of England kept interest rates on hold and lifted UK growth expectations and as UK voters headed to the polls. In the US the S&P 500 was up 2.7 points to 4,170.64 by 4.30pm UK time. JOHN LAING LEAPS In company news, shares in John Laing (JLG) jumped 20% to 379.8p on the revelation ...

London’s FTSE 100 was 0.2% higher at 7,050.16 points at lunchtime on Thursday as the Bank of England decided to hold interest rates at 0.1% and investors weighed positive corporate updates and potential political uncertainty linked in particular to elections in Scotland. As expected, the Bank of England (BoE) acknowledged improvements in the UK growth outlook owing to vaccinations picking up ...

UK fashion retailer Next (NXT) has upgraded its ‘central’ pre-tax profit guidance for the year to January 2022 by £20 million after first quarter sales beat expectations by £75 million. The company now anticipates £720 million of pre-tax profit. Shares in Next, labelled the ‘British apparel queen’ by Shore Capital, nudged 2.3% higher to a record £83.12. Next said it has ...

Leading UK shares traded cautiously higher in early deals on Thursday ahead of the Bank of England meeting in which it is expected to raise economic growth forecasts. The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.27% to 7,058.44, while the midcap FTSE 250 index traded 0.5% higher to 22,497.87, with the Bank set to announce that the country will see GDP growth at 7% in 2021, compared to the ...

Shares in key retailers were marked down on Monday despite optimism as ‘non-essential’ shops opened their doors for the first time in months. Retailers are hopeful of high footfall and are welcoming longer opening hours, yet share prices had already risen to discount today’s grand reopening and investors are watching to see if consumers will eagerly return to brick and mortar shops or ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished 0.4% higher at 6,737.30 points ahead of the Easter break amid optimism over a reopening of the UK economy. By 4.30pm UK time, the S&P 500 index in the US moved had above 4,000 for the first time, marking a record high after US President Joe Biden proposed a fresh $2 trillion stimulus package. US tech stocks rose on the back of Biden’s plan to pump funds into ...

London’s FTSE 100 traded higher ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend as investor sentiment turned positive on optimism over the impact of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the US and investors backed shares which will benefit from the reopening plan which is set to gather pace in the UK in April. A strong update from clothing retailer Next (NXT) also added a layer of shine to the ...

Shares in high street retailer Next (NXT) rallied 3% to £80.97 on Thursday after the clothing and homewares colossus unexpectedly raised its central profit guidance for the year to January 2022 by £30 million to £700 million on the back of continued online outperformance. Over the first eight weeks of the new financial year, Next’s online sales have proved stronger than expected and are up ...

London’s FTSE 100 started on the front foot ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend as investor sentiment turned positive on optimism over the impact of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the US, while a strong update from clothing retailer Next (NXT) also added a layer of shine to the index. The UK’s benchmark index gained 0.6% to 6,753.85, while the midcap FTSE 250 added 0.7% to ...

According to the Government’s latest ‘roadmap’, non-essential stores in England can reopen from 12 April. This includes clothes shops, book shops, department stores (remember those?), mobile phone shops, betting shops, car dealerships and shops such as florists and hairdressers. Face masks and social distancing will still be necessary, but for a good proportion of the population the ...

Shares in Sosandar (SOS:AIM) strutted 7.4% higher to 18.8p on Thursday as the online women’s fashion brand announced an exciting deal to sell its womenswear collections on Marks & Spencer’s (MKS) website. Hard-pressed high street stalwart Marks & Spencer is forging clothing partnerships with carefully chosen third party brands as part of a strategy to turbocharge online growth by ...

Speculation that non-essential retailers won’t be able to reopen in England until late April has cast a dark cloud over shares in the sector. Shares in Next (NXT), JD Sports (JD.) and Dunelm (DNLM) were all weak ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing his roadmap for coming out of lockdown. Some investors had expected shops to reopen in the first wave of the reopening ...

Despite all the upheaval of the past year, anyone glancing at the financial markets today might find it hard to believe investors were in the throes of despair 12 months ago. Following the global markets crash in February 2020, the recovery has been spectacular. The US Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices are at all-time highs, Japan’s Nikkei index is at a multi-decade high, China’s Shanghai ...