Investors spooked by the recent sell-off in technology stocks need to understand that some parts of the market are still doing very well – this is not an all-sector global market slump. While the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down about 6% year to date, we’ve seen the FTSE 350 oil and gas sector rise by nearly 17% over the same timeframe, the UK’s banking sector is up by 15% and the ...

According to the Nationwide building society, the average selling price of houses in the UK hit a record £254,822 this month, up more than 10% on the same month last year and the biggest price increase since 2006. Demand has remained surprisingly strong in the final quarter of the year following the tapering of the stamp duty holiday at the end of September, with average prices now 16% above ...

It may not go near the performance of nascent cyber security star Darktrace (DARK) but investors piled in to Trustpilot (TRST) after shares in the online reviews platform began trading on the London market in March 2021. Retail investors were unable to participate directly in the IPO (initial public offering) so there was a ready army of willing buyers poised to pounce. And pounce they ...

A rare sub-par performance in the first half of 2021 for global small and mid cap investment trust Smithson (SSON) has been taken fairly calmly by investors. Going forward its managers are confident they can navigate the inflation threat which has contributed to its holdings losing some of their sparkle. Portfolio manager Simon Barnard notes rising prices would not cause significant issues ...

Shares in UK house builder Taylor Wimpey (TW.) topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard with a 4.7% rally to 172.5p after the firm swung to a significant profit in the first half and raised full year earnings guidance. Revenues almost trebled from a year ago to £2.2 billion, as home completions rose from 2,771 to 7,303, driving operating profits to £424 million against a loss of £16 million in the ...

UK stocks traded lower at lunchtime on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4% as concerns increased over the tighter regulation of Chinese companies. Brent Crude ...

UK stocks opened lower on Friday after continued weak trading in Asia and as e-commerce giant Amazon missed quarterly sales forecasts for the first time since 2018, sending its shares down 7% in after-hours trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 1.8% while China’s SE Composite gave up 0.4%. Brent Crude prices fell 0.5% to $73.2 per barrel and Gold was flat at $1,829 per ounce. At 9am ...

The muted reaction to a positive update from housebuilder Vistry (VTY) on 17 May suggests the market has already priced in the current buoyant property sector conditions and may be concerned about their sustainability. In the wake of the pandemic there has been booming demand for UK houses and a parallel boost for the repair, maintenance and improvement market. The latest report from estate ...

Investors piled in to Trustpilot (TRST) after shares in the online reviews platform began trading on the London market. Retail investors had been excluded from the IPO (initial public offering) so there was a ready army of willing buyers poised to pounce. And pounce they did, sending the stock soaring 11% to 294.5p. The Denmark-based digital reviews and analytics platform had earlier priced ...

The chancellor’s announcement last week of an extension of the stamp duty holiday until the end of June and a mortgage guarantee scheme starting in April have sent home-buyers into a frenzy. The question facing investors in the UK’s listed estate agents and property services firms is whether the rising demand will be a short-term or long-term trend. The stamp duty holiday on houses ...

UK stocks dropped sharply on Friday as the sell-off in bonds continued to rattle investors, not only wiping out the previous week's gains but wiping out the entire month's gains. Overnight the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by 2.5% and 3.5% respectively, triggering the sharpest sell-off in Asian markets for nine months with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 4% and China’s SE Composite ...

UK stocks dropped sharply on Friday as the sell-off in bonds continued to rattle global equity markets. Overnight the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell by 2.5% and 3.5% respectively. That triggered the sharpest sell-off in Asian markets for nine months with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 4% and China’s SE Composite falling 2%. The sell-off spilled-over into commodities with Brent Crude ...

UK stocks dropped on Friday as the sell-off in bonds continued to rattle global equity markets. Asian markets fell by the most in nine months with Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping 4% and China’s SE Composite falling 2%. The sell-off spilled-over into commodities with Brent Crude down 1% to $65 a barrel. Gold fell 0.2% to $1,766 an ounce. At 9am the FTSE 100 of leading shares was down 0.4% at ...

Property portal OnTheMarket (OTMP:AIM) reported a return to profitability as the housing market continued to recover. The company reported a £0.7 million pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 July, compared to a £7 million pre-tax loss in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 28% to £10.2 million. The firm said it managed to swing to profitability thanks to cost-cutting measures ...

There are some great stocks across the Atlantic but you pay an increasingly high price for them. In this article we will explain why investors on the hunt for growth could look closer to home, casting their gaze across the Channel to Europe. LITTLE MARGIN FOR ERROR UK retail investors seeking ‘quality growth’ stocks outside these shores have been avid buyers of US stocks for several ...

Shares in housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) rallied 5.1% to £27.46 after it boosted recovery hopes in the sector, restoring its dividend following an ‘excellent start’ to the second half of the year. The FTSE 100 stalwart said better than expected demand for its homes had allowed it to reinstate the payout it had suspended in late March, with investors set to receive 40p per share. House ...

According to property portal Rightmove (RMV) the last four weeks has seen the highest number of agreed house sales on its platform in a single month since it started tracking the data over a decade ago, helped by a waiver on stamp duty on houses worth £500,000 or less. The firm believes ‘the rulebook has been rewritten as the post-lockdown mini-boom accelerates rather than slows down.’ The ...

The resilience of the UK housing market has been one of the notable features as we moved out of lockdown and into the next phase of the pandemic. This was reflected in recent first half results from property site Rightmove (RMV) which saw the company reveal that between the beginning of June and end of July demand for sales properties was 50% higher than the same period in 2019. In lockdown ...

UK stocks traded largely unchanged at the close on Friday as investors shrugged off better than expected US non-farm payroll figures and a slew of positive earnings surprises from companies. At 4.35pm the benchmark FTSE 100 index inched up 5 points to 6,032 as weakness in banks, energy stocks and mining firms offset a strong performance by companies reporting earnings. WINNERS Generic ...

UK stocks traded marginally lower on Friday as investors mulled growing trade tensions and markets awaited the latest US non-farm payroll figures for an insight into the world’s leading economy. At midday the benchmark FTSE 100 index edged down 5 points to 6,022 as weakness in banks and energy stocks offset a strong performance by companies reporting earnings. WINNERS Generic drugs ...