London?s FTSE 100 opened sharply lower on Tuesday, as US interest rate worries and geopolitical tensions continued to cast a dark cloud over equity markets.Only Mondi traded higher, with even packaging peer DS Smith falling despite agreeing to a takeover from International Paper, the latest twist in a takeover saga that also involved Mondi. Mondi is yet to respond to the development.The FTSE 100 i

Conflict is always an unhappy subject, but it remains an area of real focus across the globe. Cross-border collisions of ideology, hegemony, raw materials, and even survival, mean national budgets reach astronomical levels, especially in the US, by far the world's largest military spender.In 2022, global military budgets hit an all-time high of $2.2 trillion, according to data released by the Stoc

Severn Trent CEO Olivia Garfield sells over £800,000 sharesQinetiq CEO cashes in on positive trading updateAO World CFO sells over £100,000 share due to schemeQINETIQ CEO BANKS COOL MILLION Stephen Wadey, CEO of UK defence technology company Qinetiq Group (QQ.) has sold 300,000 shares in aggregate for a total value of £1.036 million.The sale comes not long after the company's first quarter trad

As volatility returns, one way to protect your portfolio is to tap into returns that aren't reliant on the global economy or the direction of markets.We think Babcock International (BAB) is a good option as it undergoes an internally-driven, multi-year turnaround.The engineering support services play has had a difficult time. However, Shares believes a rebound from October 2022 lows has further to

Most investors will remember 2022 as being one of the toughest years for stock markets around the world in a long time. However, plenty of stocks have delivered positive returns.In this feature we look at the best performing London-listed stocks spread across four different parts of the market, covering small, medium and large sized companies.£5 billion+ market capIreland has been one of the stan

- Savvy stock-pickers are up this year- Mega-cap energy and value stocks top performers- Attractive valuations spur more M&A dealsWhile it hasn't been the best of years for investors, judging by the performance of the main stock market indices around the world, there have still been plenty of stocks that could have made you decent money.So far in 2022, the FTSE 350 index has fallen by 12%. That's

- Defence tech firm doubles US business at a stroke- Qinetiq actively ramping US exposure after exit in 2014- Shares have rallied 40% this year, eclipsing most UK equitiesIf investors had any doubts about Qinetiq's (QQ.) US ambitions, today's substantial acquisition will surely put them to bed. The UK defence technology company will pay $590 million for Avantus Federal, a deal that leaves little d

Mid-cap companies have always attracted investors. Seen as large enough to compete on a global scale, but not so big that their capacity for growth is capped, like many FTSE 100 stocks, an increasing number of investors spend time researching stocks on the FTSE 250 index, or simply buy the index through the handful of inexpensive targeted ETF tracker funds that are available.While many investors m

Healthcare and corporate fitness services provider Totally (TLY:AIM) said it expects full year profit to 31 March 2022 to be 'substantially ahead' of market forecasts.Today's announcement follows on from a brief trading update on 14 April 2022 when the company said performance was anticipated to be 'ahead' of market expectations.The shares gained 4% to 44p adding to recent momentum which has seen

After Monday's Martin Luther King day market holiday, US stocks resumed their downward trajectory on Tuesday extending last week's losses. By mid-afternoon the S&P 500 index was 1.8% lower and the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was 2.1% lower.The negative sentiment was exacerbated by a further rise in the yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury note, which reached 1.843%, its highest level sinc

The major UK equity indices continued to encounter selling pressure at lunchtime on Tuesday, with investors taking the opportunity to lock-in recent gains as bond yields rose, with 10-year Gilts hitting a three-month high.The benchmark FTSE 100 closed Monday at its highest since January 2020, and the index has risen 5.2% in the past month.At midday, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.5% lower at 7569.55 a

Defence technology outfit QinetiQ (QQ.) was marked up 5% to 284.6p as it reaffirmed full-year guidance following a robust performance in the third quarter.The news helps arrest a recent slide in the shares after being hit by supply chain issues and write-downs at the back end of 2021.QinetiQ said it continued to achieve 'excellent' order intake, with orders now at more than £900 million, and reve

Major UK shares are under heavy selling pressure in early trading on Tuesday as traders dial down recent optimism, with shares of consumer firms and precious metals' miners leading the decline, while improving employment conditions in the UK and rising US Treasury yields signalled growing bets of tighter monetary policies.At 9.20am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 7,549.57 after the release

Constructed last December from shares in UK, European and US markets, Shares' 'Stock picks for 2021' portfolio was based on high conviction in 12 companies for the year ahead. While more than half of them have subsequently done well, there were a handful of disappointments.The net effect is a decent 8.6% return excluding dividends - that's higher the historical average 6% to 7% from equities inclu

Both the blue chip FTSE 100 index and the FTSE 200 mid-cap index were unable to maintain their earlier gains and finished Tuesday's trading session in negative territory.This was despite the latest employment data which showed the UK jobless rate had fallen to 4.2% from 4.3% with the claimant count falling by a better than expected 49,700.Market sentiment was negatively impacted by a warning from

Both the blue chip FTSE 100 index and the FTSE 200 mid-cap index managed to hold onto their earlier gains at lunchtime, taking comfort from the latest employment data which showed the UK jobless rate had fallen to 4.2% from 4.3% with the claimant count falling by a better than expected 49,700.Investors are focused ahead of key interest rate decisions due from central banks later this week, with th

The blue chip benchmark finished 0.6% higher at 7,384.18 points on Thursday, a 20-month high, amid relief that Chinese property developer Evergrande has avoided defaulting on its debts.Disappointing UK GDP data, combined with last week's surprise decision by the Bank of England to delay a rate rise, drove sterling lower and the international FTSE 100 higher, as a weak pound means constituents' ove

Shares in defence and cyber security company QinetiQ (QQ.) dropped 1.5% to 265.8p after first half profit was impacted by a £14.5 million writedown, in line with prior guidance of 'less than' £15 million.The writedown relates to a large complex project that has experienced technical issues and delays which the company flagged at the recent trading update.Today the company quantified the impact b

QinetiQ (QQ.) 290.8pLoss to date: 2.74%Original entry point: Buy at 23 December 2020 at 299pDefence and cyber security company QinetiQ (QQ.) surprised investors on 14 October when it flagged a supply chain issue relating to a large complex multi-year programme, sending the shares 13% lower.The company said it was making progress with the client towards a recovery of the programme which is expected

Surging commodity prices pushed the FTSE 100 to a two-month high at the close. The boom for metals and energy saw miners dominating the top of the FTSE 100 leader board, with three-month futures contracts for aluminium, copper, nickel, palladium and more rising sharply on Thursday and seeing the likes of Anglo American (AAL), Glencore (GLEN), Antofagasta (ANTO) and Rio Tinto (RIO) all catching the