London’s FTSE 100 finished Wednesday’s trading session 0.3% to the good at 6,963.67 points, albeit off intra-day highs, as investors awaited the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve as well as updates from Apple and Facebook. Across the pond in the US, the benchmark S&P 500 traded slightly higher at 4,190.46 points by 4.30pm UK time. The UK’s blue chip benchmark was buoyed by ...

London’s FTSE 100 traded in positive territory at midday on Wednesday, the blue chip benchmark bid up 0.6% to 6,982.9 points as positive corporate news on both sides of the Atlantic and optimism over the economic recovery in the UK following encouraging results from Lloyds (LLOY) buoyed investor sentiment. Overnight both Google-owner Alphabet and Microsoft reported quarterly earnings ahead of ...

London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.41% to 6,973.11 in early trading on Wednesday as optimism over the economic recovery grows while investors await the latest interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve. The Fed is unlikely to make any policy changes this time, though it is expected to acknowledge of the strengthening of the US economy, and it’s been reported that this could be the last Fed ...

Precision engineer Renishaw (RSW) has put itself up for sale after the founders told the board they want to offload their stake. Executive chairman David McMurtry and non-executive deputy chairman John Deer said they are not ‘getting any younger’ and want to ensure the future of the FTSE 250 company. Renishaw is a world leader in metrology (highly accurate measurement) and healthcare ...

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 fell into the red by lunchtime on Thursday after the Bank of England maintained interest rates at 0.1%, which came as a host of corporate updates got an increasingly negative reception. The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.35% to 6,485, while the midcap FTSE 250 index gave up earlier gains to trade almost flat at 20,732. GROWTH WORRIES HIT UNILEVER Consumer goods giant ...

UK shares opened higher on Thursday as positive earnings boosted hopes of an economic recovery, with investors looking to Bank of England's policy meeting later in the day. The BoE’s Monetary Polity Committee is widely expected to maintain base interest rates at the current 0.1%, great for mortgage borrowers and businesses looking to invest, but not so good for high street banks and ...

Monday 9 November saw things change for investors as the surge of enthusiasm associated with finding a vaccine for Covid-19 buoyed markets. For the first time in many months the vast majority of my 30 shares rose markedly. This did not trigger a notable increase in buying and selling on my behalf. I reduced my investment in two funds but little else. It was pleasing though to see that half my ...

UK stocks moved into positive territory by lunchtime on Thursday, having recouped earlier losses as Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled increased support for firms hit by Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions. Sunak announced significant changes to the Job Support Scheme (JSS), set to replace furlough from next month. Under the updated scheme employers will pay less and staff can work fewer hours ...

UK stocks retreated on Thursday after British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) posted a quarterly loss and investors looked to a parliament address later in the day by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on the economic outlook. The benchmark FTSE 100 fell 0.3% to a five-month low of 5,760.57, dragged lower by weak real estate and energy stocks, while defence firm BAE Systems ...

While the coronavirus pandemic has been the dominant story of 2020 for global markets, ever-present in the background for UK investors has been the long and torturous road to Brexit, which is rapidly coming to a head with the UK needing to strike a trade deal with the European Union (EU) before 1 January 2021. Despite having had more than four years to prepare for a deal, both sides have taken ...

Despite a strong recovery for the share price since the big correction in March, the market is still underestimating the long-term potential at precision engineering firm Renishaw (RSW). In this article we will explore how the company is investing for future growth and why investors with a five to 10-year timeframe should buy the stock and hold it through good and bad times. A CROWN ...

The UK market remains unloved with many investors believing it to be full of old economy businesses and lacking growth. While that criticism is fair on a select basis, applying such an opinion to the whole of the market would mean missing out on some good companies. Asset manager Tellworth is hoping to convince investors that the UK is still full of money-making opportunities with the launch in ...

In a rare bit of positive news for the retail sector, discounter B&M European Value Retail (BME) has been promoted to the FTSE 100 index in the latest quarterly reshuffle, global index provider FTSE Russell has confirmed. In a rebalance that sees just one change to the FTSE 100, broadcaster ITV (ITV) suffered relegation to the FTSE 250, losing its place in the elite index after a spell ...

The 100 FTSE fell 0.9% to 6,222.52 in early trading on Thursday as investors weighed up the impact of weak economic data seen yesterday and today’s corporate updates. A number of stocks going ex-dividend, as always happens on a Thursday, was also a big contributor to the fall, with the likes of pharma giants AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and oil majors BP (BP.) and Royal Dutch ...

Metrology and healthcare technology group Renishaw (RSW) issued a mixed update on Friday. On the one hand, the FTSE 250 company warned that it expected to post a large drop in annual profit because of restructuring charges, yet it raised revenue guidance to £510 million. Investors, clearly anticipating an impact on profits this year because of Covid-19, latched on to the higher sales ...

UK stocks recovered some poise on Friday, despite an overnight fall on Wall Street amid fresh concerns over the pandemic and disappointing results from content streaming firm Netflix, with company earnings coming to the rescue. In early trading the FTSE 100 index added 0.2% to 6,261 as defensive sectors such as healthcare and tobacco offsett losses in financial and energy stocks. Sterling ...

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 ...