Leading UK stocks put in an afternoon spurt after struggling for momentum through much of Wednesday with the benchmark FTSE 100 closing close to 7,000 as Wall Street opened on the front foot. The FTSE 100 ended Wednesday up 0.7% at 6,959.58, the highest it has closed since before the pandemic struck early last year. The more domestically-focused FTSE 250 closed 0.4% to the good at ...

London’s FTSE 100 was in positive territory early on Wednesday, with optimism around the potential Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough continuing to buoy global markets. The blue chip benchmark improved 0.31% to 6,316.62, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.02% to 19,032. BAE SEES BIDEN BOOST Aerospace and defence contractor BAE Systems (BA.) added 1.4% to trade at 470p after it maintained its full ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished in positive territory on Friday, even as Brexit talks revealed few signs of a breakthrough and new lockdowns to combat climbing coronavirus cases weighed on sentiment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson caused jitters by stating that talks with the EU are ‘over’ and it is time for Britain to ‘get ready’ for no-deal, though markets were boosted by Pfizer’s plans ...

London’s FTSE 100 rebounded strongly on Friday as a bit of optimism over Brexit returned, with the EU stating it is willing to continue negotiations, although new lockdowns to combat climbing coronavirus cases kept a lid on gains. At 11.40 am, the blue chip benchmark was up 1.28% at 5,907.01. SERCO SOARS ON UPGRADED GUIDANCE The biggest riser was services group Serco (SRP), soaring ...

The FTSE 100 rebounded strongly after yesterday’s major losses as a big fall in the pound helped exporters. As coronavirus cases continue to climb investors rushed to the relative safe haven of the US dollar, helping companies which report in dollars, while the pound also took a hit following reports suggesting Prime Minister Boris Johnson could walk away from talks with the EU over a ...

The FTSE 100 index jumped 2.3% higher on Tuesday to 6,208 points after the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to expand its purchase of corporate bonds to contain the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic eased liquidity concerns and boosted hopes of a global economic recovery. Meanwhile the Trump administration was said to be preparing a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal to help the economy and boost ...

It’s a fairly slow start for UK stock markets following the bank holiday weekend with attention very much focused on where European elections leave UK investors. The FTSE 100 opens the trading week up 19 point (about 0.2%) up at 7,296.73 while the midcap FTSE 250 makes modest single digit declines to around 19,118 in the wake of gains made across European markets on Monday and positive Asian ...

A well-known fund manager who in his previous job generated nearly four times as much money for investors than the broader market is back with a new fund. Paul Marriage made his name at Cazenove and Schroders, particularly with Schroder UK Dynamic Small Companies Fund (0721936) which returned 435% versus 114% from the benchmark FTSE Small Cap index in the 11 years he ran the fund. Marriage ...

London’s FTSE 100 falls back 69.8 points to 7,660.5 as investors return to their desks after the Bank Holiday, political chaos in Italy weighing on sentiment in early dealings. Electricals-to-telecommunications retailer Dixons Carphone (DC.) crashes 27.2% to 170p as new CEO Alex Baldock issues a nasty profit warning alongside a fourth quarter trading update highlighting 4% like-for-like sales ...

London’s FTSE 100 opens modestly lower on Thursday in contrast to Wall Street, which marked a new high overnight, and progression on Asian markets. Disagreement among rival factions within the Government over Brexit negotiations continues to weigh on investor sentiment. Online takeaway ordering platform Just Eat (JE.) jumps 6.2% higher to 746.5p as the Competition & Markets Authority ...

On balance we believe global stock markets will have a good year in 2017 despite plenty of big political events which could cause bouts of volatility. Economic data is positive in the US, Eurozone and China in particular and corporate earnings are forecast to improve over the coming year. Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes the latter point should drive outperformance from value stocks and ...

Seeking to reassure investors immediately after the Brexit vote, Neil Woodford said it was not his central view that the UK economy falls into recession. Admitting the view may sound controversial, he added there could even be some companies that benefit. ‘Growth in consumer cash flow will be marginally lower, principally because fuel prices will be higher but of course exporters will enjoy ...

Engineer Renold (RNO) has been a long-time laggard on the stock market and now could be its moment in the sun. While we accept that calling the end of a 51-year bear market in a stock is a fairly punchy call, there are a factors which indicate this time really is different at this plucky British exporter. Reasonable quality assets, high quality management as well ...

Order patterns at international distributor and manufacturer Acal (ACL) indicate a pick-up in business activity at the back end of 2016, says chief executive Nick Jefferies Acal's Jefferies, speaking today at full year results, echoed views of management at manufacturer Renold (RNO) yesterday, who pointed to signs of stabilisation in industrial demand which may lead to improved sales and ...

Renold (RNO) chief executive Robert Purcell says there are signs of recovery in its engineering end-markets after a tough year in which sales dipped around 9%. The world’s second-largest manufacturer of industrial chains posted revenue of £165.2 million in the year to 31 March and underlying operating profit of £14.2 million, down 8.2%. Difficult industrial markets, hit by a ...

Saga set for dividend joy Investors should expect higher dividends in insurance and holiday provider Saga (SAGA) as the company says it will pay out a greater percentage of earnings in the future. This confirms our predictions in 7 April issue of SHARES. (MD)   Zoopla's tech buy Zoopla Property (ZPLA) is acquiring property software group PSG for £75 million. The business ...

In just 112 days’ time, the UK will vote on whether to remain a member of the European Union. A decision to leave the EU could have a profound negative effect on the UK stock market. We expect considerable volatility in share prices in the lead up to the vote on 23 June, so take action now to bulletproof your investment portfolio. As we stand today, we’d expect the FTSE 100 to outperform ...

Another day, another profit warning. Small cap manufacturer Renold (RNO) adds itself to the swathe of businesses reporting tough trading conditions, sending shares 28% lower to 31p. Volatility in order patterns across the world means sales at the global torque transmission and industrial chains producer are now expected to be 10% lower than the prior year at constant currencies. That marks a ...

London investors start Tuesday largely sitting on their hands with a raft of US technology majors set tp report results after the close of trading, while traders also remain wary ahead of the release of tomorrow’s MPC minutes and a barrage of economic data scheduled for release at the end of the week. US tech giants Apple (AAPL:NDQ), Microsoft (MSFT:NDQ) and Yahoo (YHOO:NDQ) are all set to post ...

A strong mining rally ends the FTSE 100's four day slide as mining stocks put in a strong showing. After falling 2.7% last week, the blue-chips started the day 0.4% off at 6,314, before rebounding on bargain hunting. At 10.30am the Footsie is a modest five points higher at 6,345. Miners dominate the FTSE 100 leader board today after upbeat data from China. Anglo American (AAL) heads the sector ...