Chemicals companies produce the compounds used in a huge variety of different industrial and consumer products across sectors which include agriculture, healthcare, technology, aerospace, sports, leisure and beauty.The breadth of the industry?s focus means its fortunes are closely tied to the economy and movements in GDP as well as volatility in raw material prices and energy costs.In 2023 the...

The FTSE 100 was outperforming its European peers at midday Tuesday, after market sentiment got a boost from UK employment data, which has raised the chances of a Bank of England interest rate cut.A red-hot US consumer price rise could undo all of that progress, however. According to FXStreet cited consensus, the US annual consumer price inflation rate is expected to have remained at 3.1% in...

As we approach the end of the year it is a good time to take stock with your investing, and it's no different for the team at Shares. We do our best to furnish you with strong investment ideas every week, but we clearly do not get it right every time.Two big losers from the last 12 months or so which stand out as examples where we need to hold our hands up and acknowledge we got it wrong, and...

- On course for 57th successive dividend hike- Mining sector underweight detracts from H1 performance- Numis views trust as an 'attractive core holding'Popular investment trust City of London (CTY) produced a positive return for the first half to 31 December 2022 despite turbulent market conditions, though performance was slightly behind the 5.1% rise in the FTSE All-Share index.But the good...

- Disposal a first step in firm's new strategy- Sale price tops analyst and company forecasts- Core business still faces significant headwindsSpecialty chemical maker Synthomer (SYNT) announced it had reached a deal to sell some of its non-core businesses in order to pay down its debt and restructure its finances.The shares, which have lost over 70% of their value this year, added more than 8%...

The FTSE 350 index finished a volatile third quarter to September 2022 down 4.5% amid continuing worries over stubbornly high inflation and rising rates as well as geopolitical instability.A slew of profit warnings, notably from consumer stocks, and a sell-off following the mini-Budget, capped off a testing quarter for investors.Stocks that performed strongly ranged from companies receiving...

- Earnings guidance cut by 10% to 15%- Business hit by medical glove destocking- Company focusing on cash generation, reducing debtChemicals firm Synthomer (SYNT) saw its shares fall off a cliff as it guided for earnings to be 10% to 15% below previous guidance in an unscheduled trading update.The reaction from investors was out of synch with the scale of the downgrades as it slumped 36% to...

In this article we take a dive into the lowly valued part of the UK stock market to see if we can find some hidden gems. Specifically, we are looking for shares trading on less than eight times forecast earnings.It is sometimes said 'one man's meat is another man's poison' or 'one man's rubbish is another man's treasure'.Digging around the ultra-cheap end of the stock market may not be...

Shares in plastics manufacturer Synthomer (SYNT), fell by 6% to 317.2p in early trading despite the group announcing that full year EBITDA (earnings, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) would be in line with analyst's forecasts which sit at £518.4 million compared with £259.4 million last year.However nitrile margins, have normalised at a faster rate than management had...

UK equities continued to trade in positive territory by midday on Monday with the FTSE 100 blue chip index 1% higher at 7,191 points and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index 0.4% firmer at 22,734 pointsThe market was encouraged by the latest IHS Markit monthly construction purchasing managers index for November which improved to 55.5 from 54.6 in October.A score of above 50 indicates growth, and the...

London's FTSE 100 slumped on Friday morning, led by sharp falls in travel and leisure stocks after the UK re-imposed travel restrictions on several African countries following a potentially more infectious strain of Covid-19.At 08:58 am, the blue chip benchmark was down 200 points, or 2.74%, to 7,110.22 with aero-engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.), British Airways-owner International Consolidated...

Despite gains for index heavyweights including Lloyds Banking (LLOY) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the FTSE fell on Thursday due to negative movements from both Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and HSBC (HSBA).The blue chip benchmark traded 0.36% lower at 7,227.24 points on a busy day of corporate results.The European Central Bank was set to update the market later in the day and investors will be...

City of London Investment Trust (CTY) has been a popular choice for investors over the years, but a period of underperformance versus the UK Equity Income investment trust sector average on a three and five-year basis is a worry.Typically investing in FTSE 100 companies, City of London has been a hit with certain types of investors, particularly those approaching retirement or already in it....

Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets.These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda (CRDA) has a market capitalization of £12.6 billion, this contrasts with AIM-quoted Biome Technologies...

We're pleased to welcome back Malcolm from Edinburgh who is sharing his experience as someone in retirement taking charge of their investments for the first time. This is part five of the series click to read parts one, two, three and four. In managing my retirement portfolio of 30 shares, currently divided between 12 in the FTSE 100, 13 in FTSE 250 companies and five from the FTSE AIM 100...

UK stocks got off to a positive start on Friday despite GDP data for May coming in below expectations.Data from the office of national statistics showed the economy grew 0.8% year-on-year in May, slower than the 2% recorded in April.Construction and manufacturing output contracted slightly indicating the economic recovery may be losing some steam. Despite this, the pound remained stable...

UK stocks got off to a positive start on Friday despite GDP data for May coming in below expectations.Data from the office of national statistics showed the economy grew 0.8% year-on-year in May, slower than the 2% recorded in April.Construction and manufacturing output contracted slightly indicating the economic recovery may be losing some steam. Despite this, the pound remained stable...

UK shares traded higher on Wednesday following yesterday's sharp fall, helped by gains in oil shares with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP) gaining just over 2% each.The pound was steady despite a 0.7% jump in consumer price inflation for March, lifted by higher fuel prices which reflect the large falls seen last year at the start of the pandemic.Sterling was 0.2% lower against the US...

UK shares opened higher on Wednesday following yesterday's sharp fall, helped by gains in oil shares with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP) gaining just over 2% each.The pound was steady despite a 0.7% jump in consumer price inflation for March, lifted by higher fuel prices which reflect the large falls seen last year at the start of the pandemic.Sterling was 0.2% lower against the US...

Despite optimism over vaccine rollouts, London's FTSE 100 opened lower on Wednesday as a strengthening pound weighed on exporters and investors continued to worry about global inflation risks.By 8.35 am, the blue chip benchmark was off 0.5% at 6,595.1 points, while the FTSE 250 was 0.2% higher at 21,090.6.LLOYDS RESUMES DIVIDENDHigh street bank Lloyds (LLOY) rose 2.6% to 40.2p early on after...