UK stocks inched higher on Tuesday in anticipation of the government setting out details on how to make workplaces ‘Covid secure’ and restart the economy. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks added 28 points or 0.5% to 5,968 led by telecoms and retailers, while travel stocks and property companies limited the gains. Mobile operator Vodafone (VOD) helped support the index, rising 3.7% to ...

It is too early to call the coronavirus a pandemic but the Asian outbreak is still casting a pall over the mood of investors, who retrenched back into risk off mode on Thursday. Cases and deaths continue to rise, airlines are slashing flight schedules and factories in China have been extending holidays into February. The mood in the market is one of severe concern, and that is having ma severe ...

After a difficult 2018, our latest annual portfolio of 10 stocks has delivered far superior rewards. Last year we outperformed the market, albeit still making a loss. This year we’ve smashed the returns from the FTSE All-Share and generated significant profits. Our portfolio has delivered a 23% total return (capital gains and dividends) versus 16.7% from the market. That’s one of our ...

Renishaw (RSW) £31.94 Loss to date: -16% Original entry price: Buy at £38.04, 20 December 2019 High quality engineering outfit Renishaw (RSW) has seen its share price come under considerable pressure after the latest of several downbeat updates from the company in 2019. A first quarter update, for the financial year running to 30 June 2020, showed pre-tax profit for the ...

UK markets open modestly on the front foot on Tuesday despite the blow to investors from news that Neil Woodford's Equity Income fund is to be wound up by its administrator and return cash to investors. The fund, run by the one-time star fund manager, was suspended on 4 June. At its peak, the Woodford Equity Income fund managed £10.2bn worth of assets, such as local authority pension funds ...

Last year was a vintage one for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with deals totalling more than $4trn, the highest figure since 2007 and the onset of the global financial crisis. This year is shaping up to also be a historic period for takeovers and we believe UK-listed companies are prime targets for foreign companies. In 2018 mega deals worth $10bn or more grabbed the headlines. According ...

If you are new to stock market investing you may still have heard of the FTSE 100. It frequently appears on TV news bulletins and in the papers, its relative direction up or down giving viewers/readers a steer as to how the UK economy is going and how optimistic, or not, investors feel about the nation’s prospects. By contrast, the FTSE 350 the has a very low profile and seldom gets a mention ...

Last month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed saw the unveiling of Europe’s first roadworthy autonomous delivery vehicle. Called Kar-go, the self-driving electric-powered robot on wheels has been developed by former Formula 1 and classic car boffins. It promises to slash the cost of last-mile goods delivery by up to 90%. This is just the sort of exciting project to have captured the imagination ...

At the halfway point of the year our key selections for 2019 are doing superbly. Our average gain of 18.3% compares with an 11.2% gain for the FTSE All-Share over the same time period. Pleasingly not a single selection is in negative territory and four names are up by more than a quarter on our starting point. More than half the portfolio has enjoyed double-digit gains. WHICH IS THE BEST ...

Investors seeking to complement mainstream UK value and income-oriented funds with a concentrated, actively managed best ideas growth trust should snap up Baillie Gifford UK Growth Fund (BGUK). The only Baillie Gifford-managed investment trust trading at a significant discount to net asset value (NAV), 5% at the time of writing, a continuation of the recent pick-up in performance should trigger ...

Renishaw (RSW) £39.32 Gain to date: 3.4% Original entry price: Buy at £38.04, 20 December 2019 Just as precision measurement kit maker Renishaw (RSW) was beginning to regain some momentum following its profit warning in March, it promptly warned again (14 May). The market appears to have largely taken the news in its stride, with the stock falling 15% at the open on the news but ...

The FTSE 100 has ignored other markets this morning and nudged higher, despite news of China’s retaliation to the US in its ongoing trade war causing shockwaves around the world. Investors may have been encouraged by Donald Trump's hints at a resolution in the coming weeks. The UK basket of leading shares is up 0.6% to 7,205.72, untroubled by the news that, following media reports over the ...

Since Baillie Gifford took over the running of the trust from Schroders in 2018 Baillie Gifford UK Growth (BGUK) has enjoyed a strong performance. In share price terms, the trust is the UK’s best performer across the entire Association of Investment Companies UK All Companies grouping, over the last 12 months (see table). Steered by Milena Mileva and Iain McCombie the trust’s showing is ...

Our top picks of the year have got off to a great start with the portfolio up 14.1% versus 7.9% from the wider market.  We’ve only suffered one profit warning and only two of the 10 stocks are in negative territory. Six of the stocks have delivered double-digit gains, so hopefully you are sharing our success with your own portfolio. The best performer is Fevertree Drinks ...

Renishaw (RSW) £37.10 Loss to date: 2.5% Original entry point: Buy at £38.04, 20 December 2018 A profit warning from precision engineer Renishaw (RSW) has wiped out all our earlier gains, putting the trade a touch below our December entry point. Asian weakness is to blame amid a slowdown in demand for its encoder products and from large end-user manufacturers of consumer electronic ...

Precision engineering firm Renishaw (RSW) is down 10.4% to £37.64 as it warns on profit for the 12-month period to 30 June 2019. The company says a slowdown in demand in Asia for its encoder products and from large end-user manufacturers of consumer electronic products is expected to continue for the rest of the financial year. Renishaw announced full year revenue will be in the range ...

US stocks ended down yesterday after the Federal Reserve cut its forecast for GDP growth with financial stocks and the Dollar selling off in late trading as the prospect of further interest rate rises receded. Typically as the Dollar falls, commodity prices get a boost and this is feeding through into strength in miners and energy producers in the UK this morning with BHP (BHP), Rio Tinto ...

As investors we’re regularly told to buy low and sell high in terms of valuation. This line of thought often leaves people feeling nervous about buying shares on higher ratings, especially when market exuberance is in short supply. For many investors, buying stocks on a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple in the high teens would be enough to cause a sweat. Paying more than 20 or 30-times might ...

Renishaw (RSW) £43.68 Gain to date: 14.8% Original entry point: Buy at £38.04, 20 December 2019 Half year results from precision engineer Renishaw (RSW) were well received by the market despite pre-tax profit dipping 6.9% to £61.6m. The business is doing very well in all of its geographic territories apart from the Far East where revenue slipped 1% in the six-month period. It ...

Science-based engineering firm Renishaw (RSW) has a clear and focused approach which it consistently pursues regardless of the macro-economic backdrop. A big decline in the share price in recent months should spark your interest as it means you can gain exposure to this high-quality outfit at a significantly more attractive price. The company has been unfairly punished by the market for ...