Stocks in London were mixed during midday trade on Friday, with the FTSE underperforming its European equivalents, in anticipation of critical data on US jobs.The FTSE 100 index was down 36.14 points, 0.4%, at 8,246.38. The FTSE 250 was up 53.28 points, 0.3%, at 20,793.34, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.11 points, 0.3%, at 735.95.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 825.03, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.5%

After September's boom, US stocks have gone limp into early October with investor's troubled by escalating aggression in the Middle East, pushing oil prices to their biggest increases in nearly a year.At the same time, mixed economic data offered little firm clue as to the future of the Federal Reserve's easing cycle after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted the central bank is not in a rush to rapidly

Stocks in London were making little progress on Friday morning, as the market awaited the key catalyst of the afternoon's US nonfarm payroll data.'Today's jobs data will be very important in providing a final conclusion to the week's so far stronger-than-expected US jobs figures,' comments Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya. 'The US economy is expected to have added near 147,000 new nonfarm jobs in Se

Stocks in London slipped into the red by the close on Thursday, as worries about escalations in the Middle East conflict sapped risk appetite.London's FTSE 100 was spared the steeper falls seen by its European equivalents, however. This was thanks to some dovish comments from the Bank of England, strong results from Tesco, and the index's general defensive positioning.The FTSE 100 index closed dow

Shares in Yorkshire-based pork and poultry producer Cranswick (CWK) leapt 280p or 6% to a new life-high just shy of £50 on Friday as the firm raised its outlook yet again following a better-than-expected second quarter. Led for the last decade by chief executive Adam Couch, a Cranswick 'lifer', the company has expanded its production in recent years to serve UK supermarkets and 'food-to-go' clien

On 24 September, the PBOC (People's Bank of China) unveiled a major stimulus package to support economic growth, promote the expansion of consumption and investment and throw a lifeline to struggling industries and sectors.The central bank also announced a 800-billion-yuan ($114 billion) lending pool to help fund managers, insurers and brokers buy more stocks and initiate share buybacks.China's st

Greggs (GRG)Buy at £29.79Market Cap: £3 billionBack in July we flagged food-on-the-go purveyor Greggs (GRG) as a mid-cap 'star' thanks to its ability to consistently grow its earnings at a double-digit rate and its attractive valuation. The shares have put on a couple of pounds in the last couple of months, and although sales in July and August were slightly slower than expected, most likely due

This is the third and final part of our mini-series on portfolio construction where we discuss some key life milestones and how they can impact investment plans and portfolios.Managing a portfolio of investments should be a dynamic process which evolves with changing life circumstances, goals, age, and risk appetite.Your early 20s are often associated with significant changes to financial and pers

Stock prices in London were mostly lower but the FTSE 100 was held up by rising oil prices following Iran's attack on Israel, as investors await US unemployment data.The FTSE 100 index was up 6.31 points, or 0.1%, at 8,282.58. The FTSE 250 was down 147.04 points, or 0.7%, at 20,767.66, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.58 points, or 0.4%, at 734.22.The Cboe UK 100 was up slightly at 828.88, the Cbo

Musicmagpie shares gain 49% in morning tradingOffer at 58% premium to closing share price on 1 OctoberMusicmagpie shareholders will receive 9.07p per share in cashShares in Musicmagpie (MMAG:AIM) gained 49% to 8p in morning trading after the refurbished electronics seller received a £10 million takeover offer from electrical retailer AO World (AO.).Musicmagpie shareholders will receive 9.07p per

London's FTSE 100 was in the green on Wednesday morning while the FTSE 250 was down a notch, as the market was cautious of repercussions of further conflict in the Middle East.The FTSE 100 index opened up 28.91 points, or 0.3%, at 8,305.56. The FTSE 250 was down just 0.13 points at 20,914.57, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.60 points, or 0.1%, at 737.40.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 831.60, the Cb

Stock prices in London remained in the red at midday on Monday after data showed UK's economy grew milder than expected in the second quarter, while China continued its stimulus efforts.The FTSE 100 index was down 64.56 points, or 0.8%, at 8,256.20. The FTSE 250 was down 227.22 points, or 1.1%, at 21,013.34, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.66 points, or 0.5%, at 741.99.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.

European stocks were in the green at Friday midday after a slew of fiscal stimulus measures from China, and as investors await key US inflation data which is crucial in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions.The core personal consumption index remains traders' main focus going into Friday afternoon, and is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on a monthly basis with a small annual uptick fr

Trading ahead of forecastsHalf-year seen up on 2023Full-year profit top end of rangeFood producer Cranswick (CWK) has once again seen trading top expectations due to strong demand leading it to raise its half-year and full-year earnings guidance.The shares leapt 280p or 6% to £49.95 taking them not only to the top of the FTSE 250 leader board but to an all-time high. ONWARDS AND UPWARDSCra

Robust trading ahead of marketFull-year results ahead of expectationsEarnings upgradesPubs group Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) continued to grow sales ahead of the market in the fourth quarter despite an easing inflationary backdrop, unseasonably cool weather and disruption cased by the summer riots.The All Bar One and Toby Carvery operator said robust trading and a reduction in net cost headwinds to

Stocks in Europe opened higher on a busy Thursday filled with economic readings from the US and Europe as well as comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.The US data today will be followed on Friday by the Fed's preferred inflation gauge of core personal consumption expenditures.'The global economy is settling into a newfound stability and central banks can continue to cautiously cut

With rate cuts now in the rear-view mirror, and with the US market trading at an all-time price high at the end of last week, attention is likely to turn to corporate earnings to make sure we aren't overpaying for stocks at this point.Forecasts for S&P 500 earnings have been gently drifting down all year, which is perfectly normal as analysts routinely start the year on too optimistic a note and e

There are investors who believe that the world's three hyper-scale cloud computing firms ? Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ), Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) and Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) ? have that market tied up. Shares believes that Oracle (ORCL:NYSE) has a very good chance of crashing the cloud party, that consensus growth estimates could prove too low, and that the stock ? up 60% already this year ? has a great cha

London's FTSE 100 went into the afternoon on decent footing, but limped over the line on Wednesday, as a weaker oil price hit BP and Shell.Hawkish words from a UK central banker did little to stir up enthusiasm for equities, though the OECD set out an encouraging outlook for the domestic economy.'With a lack of major economic news on the schedule for Wednesday and only a few big-name corporates re

The FTSE 100 opened in the red on Wednesday morning, but other London stocks were mostly in the green, as investors awaited home sale and building permit data from the US.'An incredibly quiet economic calendar awaits today,' observed Pepperstone's Michael Brown, 'with only August's new home sales figures of note, though today's five-year auction will attract some attention after solid demand for y