UK stocks eked out small gains despite a pause in the commodity rally, with financial and house building stocks making headway while energy and mining stocks took a back seat after recent gains. At 9.15am the FTSE 100 index was up just 6 points or 0.1% to 6,595 points while the FTSE 250 mid-cap index gained 58 points or 0.3% to 21,280. Sterling recovered from overnight selling to trade at ...

UK stocks continued their advance on Wednesday on the back of a swathe of positive news and upgraded guidance and encouraged by the Dow Jones index in the US hitting a record 30,000 points. At 8.45am the FTSE 100 index was up a further 24 points or 0.4% to 6,456 led by gains in industrial and utility stocks. Aerospace and auto parts maker Melrose (MRO) was the biggest climber on the ...

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 ...

UK stocks opened moderately lower on Tuesday amid a mixed bag of earnings updates that included market-pleasing numbers from BP (BP.) and Direct Line (DLG) that were offset by a profit slump at Diageo (DGE). At 8.30, the FTSE 100 was off 0.24% at 6,018.15. Oil major BP rallied 5.6% to 296.8p, despite cutting the dividend for the first time in a decade, after reporting a record $6.7 billion ...

UK shares made gains in early trade on Tuesday as stable oil prices, on track GDP and positive factory data out of China were encouraging even though the blue-chip FTSE 100 was set for its worst quarter since 1987. The UK’s GDP rose 1.1% in the quarter to March, bang on target with forecasts. China's manufacturing purchasing managers index jumped to 52.0 in March, up from 35.7 in ...

After a strong recovery overnight in US markets, with the S&P500 gaining 4.6% and the Dow Jones index gaining 5%, European markets posted increases of 2% or more in early trading on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 rallied 1% to 6,728 with every sector registering gains although notably defensive areas such as Tobacco and Utilities were still among the best performers suggesting investors are hedging ...

In a sign of where markets are heading, the FTSE 100 opened below the 7,200 mark as investors worry over a big escalation in the US/China trade war. For the first time since 1994, the United States has officially called China out as a currency manipulator. In response, China has accused the US of ‘deliberately destroying international order’. Investors around the world are clearly ...

The FTSE 100 starts Friday in a subdued state amid mixed corporate news and ahead of the release of US GDP data later. In early trading the index is down 23.68 points at 7,410.45. Lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) slumps 4.5% as it books a fall in first-quarter profit and delivers a soft warning on its annual guidance, a day after announcing chief executive Ross McEwan was leaving. Food ...

Engineering firm Rotork (ROR) sinks 8.4% to 271.3p as it warns revenue growth will slow in 2019 (after a strong showing in 2018) thanks to macroeconomic uncertainty. The Bath-headquartered company designs and makes industrial flow control equipment. Because they share a West Country base and a reputation as quality operators in the metal bashing space, Rotork is often paired with Spirax-Sarco ...

Markets start the week on a positive note on signs that the US and China are close to agreeing a tariff deal which could put an end to the trade war. Asian stocks climb with China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan Nikkei index both gaining 1% while oil prices also gain ground and the US Dollar slips. In the UK the FTSE 100 index gains 0.3% to 7,127 points with most sectors trading higher bar ...

We think the generous and growing income on offer from Murray Income Trust (MUT) coupled with its focus on quality companies at an attractive price will prove a winner with investors. The investment trust offers a dividend yield of 4.3% and has grown its dividend in every one of the last 45 years. Like all closed-end funds, Murray can hold back cash to act as a buffer if its underlying ...

UK stocks give up yesterday’s gains with the FTSE 100 down 47 points or 0.7% to 7,003 as Engineering, Mining, Oil Services and Utilities stocks weigh on the market. The Centrica (CNA) trading update reads well with cash-flow in line, the dividend maintained and cost savings above the £200m target set out at the half year stage. However tucked away at the end is a note that changes to the ...

The FTSE 100 starts the week on the front foot, up 37.5 points to 7,701. This follows positive trading in Asia. Mining giant Glencore (GLEN) also aided the index with a 1.7% rise. The prospect of a no deal exit from the EU looming has plunged the pound to an 11 month low against the dollar, aiding those FTSE 100 companies earning their revenue overseas. Asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen ...

All economies experience recurring and fluctuating levels of economic activity over time, with the five main stages of the business cycle running as follows: growth, peak, recession, trough and recovery. The business cycle is usually replicated in the stock market with the market going up when the economy is growing and going down when it is contracting. Different types of stocks tend to perform ...

Investors in UK engineering firms have enjoyed a highly positive spell over the last 12 months or so and FTSE 250 Rotork (ROR) is the latest to leave shareholders in chipper mood. The £2.82bn company, which makes actuators and flow controls, told investors on Monday that it expects full year revenue to grow by mid-to-high single digits this year to 31 December 2018, with profits margins ...

The FTSE 100 gets off to a solid start on Monday – a smidge higher at 7,368.98 – after hitting its highest levels since February at the end of last week. Support services firm Capita (CPI) gains 13% to 180.75p as the market demonstrates relief the company is addressing its financial problems with a £701m fully underwritten rights issue. Impairments saw 2017 pre-tax profit widen to £513.1m ...

Support services and engineering sectors stand out from the recent corporate earnings season with a large number of companies beating forecasts. UBS says more than half of stocks in its European support services coverage beat earnings expectations. It says on average the stocks beating expectations went up by 1.3% and those missing expectations fell by 6.4%. Its most preferred UK-listed ...

London’s FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 open in negative territory on Thursday, off 28.7 points to 7,390 and trading 26.8 points lower at 19,987 respectively, weighed down by a cut in UK growth forecasts, volatile oil prices and weaker overnight trading on Wall Street and in Asia. Among the blue chips, British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) crashes 16% lower to 137.1p on a full year profit warning. In its ...

Investment bank UBS says now is the time to buy engineer Rotork (ROR). Analyst Mark Fielding says: ‘A return to 25%-plus operating margins by 2021 supports a 12% per year earnings per share compound annual growth rate and can catalyse a return to a sector premium rating’. The company has struggled thanks to weakness in the oil and gas market and currently trades at 253p. UBS has a 295p ...