UK stocks open on Wednesday showing decent gains for the blue-chips and wider market but midcaps drag on a mixture of corporate news. The FTSE 100rallies around 35 points, or 0.5%, to 6,868 early on, rising for the fifth consecutive session. The index has not closed above this mark since 4 June. But the FTSE 250 fades, drifting a modest 0.1% to 17,978.Supermarket stocks lead the Footsie...

FTSE 100 aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce (RR.) gains 2.3% to £10.50 after announcing after the market close on 7 March that it will buy out German carmaker Daimler's 50% stake in a power systems joint venture - a transaction which observers believe reduces the likelihood Rolls will bid for Finnish peer Wartsila. Liberum increases its 2015 earnings per share forecast by 7% to 77p and says...

Stockmarkets around the world have suffered a poor start to the week amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine. Equities with exposure to those countries have plummeted on the London market as well as wider sell-off in most sectors. The gold price, unsurprisingly, is back in favour with a 1.1% rise to $1,345 per ounce.The FTSE 100 is down 1% to 6,740. In contrast, Moscow's MICEX index...