After swinging between gains and losses throughout the day, UK stocks finished virtually unchanged on Tuesday as pleasing updates from BP (BP.), Melrose (MRO) and Direct Line (DLG) were offset by a profit slump at Diageo (DGE). At 4.35pm the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 5 points or 0.08% at 6,028, just about holding above the 6,000 level. WINNERS BP was the biggest points ...

After a weak opening, UK stocks turned higher on Tuesday as investors responded positively to updates from BP (BP.) and Direct Line (DLG), offsetting disappointment at a profit slump at Diageo (DGE). At midday the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 19 points or 0.3% to 6,052, consolidating yesterday’s move back above the 6,000 level. WINNERS BP was the biggest gainer and leading points ...

London’s FTSE 100 firms 31.2 points to 7,216.6 as the idea Brexit could be delayed stirs up investor interest in UK stocks. This follows a vote by MPs to ask the EU to push back the UK’s exit beyond the current 29 March departure date. Housebuilders, supermarkets, tobacco firms and insurers are all giving weight to the broader FTSE 350 index, with small gains also being registered across all ...

Motion capture technology supplier OMG (OMG:AIM) has killed off its OMG Life arm after consistently failing to generate revenue. The Life business tried to licence intellectual property. ‘The total folly that was OMG Life should never have been started, let alone been allowed to consume many millions of shareholders’ money,’ says Rob Warensjo, Megabuyte ...

Ever since the Jetsons cartoon introduced the robotic housekeeper in the 60s, people have been predicting that robotics will be the next big thing. The past year has seen a swathe of acquisitions and investment in robotic companies, prompting some industry watchers to ponder if we are on the brink of a new era of business in robotics. ‘We have reported 37 equity fundings and 25 acquisitions so ...

Small to mid cap broker N+1 Singer has published its top picks for the second half of 2015, highlighting 15 stocks that it believes should outperform in the run up to Christmas. While investors should treat the list as ideas to research further, and definitely not investment advice, there is certainly merit in studying N+1 Singer's list given that its first-half portfolio of 'best ideas' beat ...

Sophos software boost City insiders believe that cyber security business Sophos is likely to pull the trigger on a much anticipated London IPO this summer. Fast-growing and profitable, the Abingdon-based company is believed likely to command a £1 billion to £1.5 billion market valuation, making it one of the UK's biggest quoted software companies. (SFr) Pearson's US warning Liberum ...

UK markets extend gains in early trade Friday having once again closed above the important 7,000 mark on Thursday. Strong housebuilding figures and firm pharma stocks provide much of the lift, with Shire (SHP) heading the blue-chip leader board with a 4.6% gain to £56.70, while Indivior (INDV), demerged from Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) is among the bigger midcap movers. The UK’s third largest ...

Latham (James) (LTHM:AIM) 577.5p Sheet and hardwood supplier Latham has been consistently profitable for the past 10 years, more than doubling operating profit in the same period. The Hemel Hempstead-based company is expected to grow earnings per share 19% to 39.5p this year. Leaf Clean Energy (LEAF:AIM) 34p Renewable energy investor Leaf Clean is a closed-end fund in run-off. At a ...

UK stocks drop sharply for the second day straight on Tuesday as falling oil prices and another shocking profits warning from supermarket Tesco (TSCO) hammer market sentiment. Having lost around 1% of its value on Monday, London’s FTSE 100 index dives a further 1.1% at 6,601 in early deals. The index has not closed below this level since 7 November. Global stock markets are also under ...

Struggling motion capture technology supplier OMG (OMG:AIM) needs to accelerate a fundamental rethink of its diverse business to release value for beleaguered shareholders. The first step towards being a more focused business has come with the £800,000 sale (16 Oct) of its loss-making House of Moves services arm. To re-engage investor interest, more needs to be done. ‘We have long been ...

Struggling motion capture technology supplier OMG (OMG:AIM) needs to accelerate a fundamental rethink of its diverse business to release value for beleaguered shareholders. The first step towards being a more focused business has come with the £800,000 sale (16 Oct) of its loss-making House of Moves services arm. To re-engage investor interest, more needs to be done. ‘We have long been ...

Diagnostic-focused research company Proteome Sciences (PRM:AIM) improves 5.1% to 40.5p as it continues to climb on news that it’s close to developing an Alzheimer’s detection test. Niche drug maker Shire (SHP) opens 1.2% down at £44.73 following yesterday’s £51.15 a share offer from US outfit AbbVie (ABBV:NDQ). The £30.1 billion bid is the fourth the Chicago-based firm has made for the ...

Specialty chemicals outfit AZ Electronic Materials (AZEM) has received a €1.9 million takeover offer from German chemicals giant Merck, sending its shares up 51.6% to 398.5p. Shareholders in AZ, which supplies products used in iPads, smartphones, semiconductors and flatscreen TVs, are set to receive 404p per share in cash, representing a 53% premium to Wednesday's closing price of ...

Banknote printer De La Rue (DLAR) falls 6.2% to 920.5p after saying operating profit growth is behind schedule for its three-year 'improvement plan'. This aims to increase operating profit from £40 million in 2010/11 to £100 million by 2013/14. De La Rue blames tough trading in its currency division and cash processing solutions business.   Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) falls ...

Pure cloud services supplier Outsourcery (OUT:AIM) has brought a sparkle to its share price since last week's stockmarket debut. The group has today unveiled a deal with Virgin Media's (VMED) business arm to resell its services suite to enterprise customers. The £40 million cap joined the London market on 24 May at 110p and the shares have rallied strongly, adding another 1.5p today to ...

Dow Jones Industrials SELL 14,560             TARGET 13,784              STOP LOSS 14,820     America’s Dow Jones Industrials stands at all-time peak and technical analysts must now decide whether the bulls carry sufficient conviction to take it higher still. My fear is the Dow remains susceptible to a significant correction as critical wave projection ...