Indexes in London finished mostly lower on Tuesday, as a rate cut decision from the US Federal Reserve and a UK state visit from US President Donald Trump loomed. The Fed started its two-day key policy meeting on Tuesday, AFP reported, hours after Stephen Miran narrowly won confirmation to join the central bank. Stephen Miran, who has been a key advisor to Trump, took the oath of office as a...

The takeover bandwagon is picking up speed as the year progresses with deals seemingly now being announced each week. On 9 June US chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM:NASDAQ) agreed to take over Alphawave IP Group (AWE), which designs high-speed data transmission technology and licences it to semiconductor designers and manufacturers, much like Cambridge-based ARM (ARM:NASDAQ), once the UK's biggest...

European stocks recovered at midday Tuesday, as investors continued to digest tariff fears, while the EU reportedly plans to respond with tariffs on US goods.The EU plans tariffs of up to 25% on US goods in retaliation for levies on metals, but will spare bourbon to shield European wine and spirits from reprisals, according to a document seen by AFP on Tuesday.The proposed tariffs ? drawn up...

September was a bad month for stocks in general, but it was especially poor for UK REITs (real estate investment trusts), with 77% of the sector by market cap being derated according to analysts at Winterflood, leaving 24 out of 32 trusts down over nine months.With worries over the economy, discounts to NAV (net asset value) continuing to widen and retail investors exiting the sector in their...

Jefferies cuts stocks to 'hold' or 'sell'Analysts see 'recession' in officesMorgan Stanley takes a more positive viewShares in four of the UK's biggest property companies fell after analysts at investment bank Jefferies cut their recommendations on the basis office rents in the capital are headed for recession.British Land (BLND) shares eased 1.9% to 320p, Derwent London (DLN) shares were 1.6%...

Self-storage and private rental markets strongFirms all investing for future growthValuations yet to respond due to high ratesWhile shares in UK property stocks are stuck in the doldrums due to rising interest rates, the latest announcements from a leading self-storage firm and a pair of property rental groups suggest it is very much 'business as usual'.A GROWING MARKETIn its first-quarter...

If you could buy a selection of the best-quality UK real estate investment trusts all under one roof rather than individually, it would save a lot of time and effort. You can, thanks to the open-ended VT Gravis UK Listed Property Fund (BK8VW75).While property has been out of favour recently, weaker valuations means you can get exposure at a cheaper price.The fund is owned and run by Gravis...

Student accommodation is a segment of the property market with supportive dynamics coming out of the pandemic and we think Empiric Student Property (ESP) is an attractively valued way of gaining access to this space.Empiric trades at a substantial discount to its larger peer Unite (UTG), reflecting a somewhat more uneven track record and its smaller scale, but we think the managers of the real...

British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) and student property company Unite (UTG) look set to be promoted into the FTSE 100 index following the latest quarterly reshuffle of the blue-chip index. The changes become effective on 20 June 2022.Firms only get promoted when their size places them inside the top 90 companies by market capitalisation and likewise the demoted stocks need to be below the 110th...

Look at the investment trust space if you want to outperform the market when it comes to investing in UK smaller companies.Using data from FE Fundinfo, Shares compared the sector performance to the FTSE All-Share and the Numis Smaller Companies indices.Only seven out of 17 open-ended funds in the UK Smaller Companies sector have beaten the market over the past five years, according to analysis...

UK stocks experience their worst one-day fall in more than 12 months on Monday as global markets swooned due to sustained weakness in US technology stocks with the Nasdaq 100 collapsing by 4% as sellers began to exhibit signs of panic.Asian trading saw a volatile session with Japan's Nikkei 225 and China's Shanghai Composite up slightly, but the EuroStoxx 50 index of leading European companies...

UK stocks fell sharply at the start of the week as global markets swooned following weakness in US stocks on Friday.Asian trading saw a volatile session with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing 0.25% higher and China's Shanghai Composite up slightly, but the EuroStoxx 50 index of leading European companies shed 2% as tech stocks faced heavy selling.Investors are also bracing themselves ahead of an...

UK and European stocks started the week on a down note following weakness in US stocks on Friday, although futures prices indicated a bounce of close to 1% for the benchmark S&P 500 at the open.Asian trading saw a volatile session with Japan's Nikkei 225 closing 0.25% higher and China's SE Composite up slightly. Oil prices continued their rise with Brent Crude gaining 0.5% to $87.70 per...

UK shares ended the first week of the quarter much as they started it, with the conversation dominated by rising energy prices.Brent crude finished above $83 per barrel for a gain of nearly $4 or 5% on the week, marking a three-year high.In the event the much-awaited US September non-farm payroll data was a damp squib, sending markets in Europe and the US lower.By the close the FTSE 100 index...

UK shares eased back after a firm opening on Friday as investors awaited US monthly non-farm payrolls data, with expectations that the economy added 0.5 million jobs in September.Brent Crude prices gained to $82.50 per barrel while it was reported that US diesel stockpiles were at 20-year lows heading into the winter.At midday the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was flat at 7,078 despite...

UK shares opened slightly firmer on Friday led by gains in oil companies, with both Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and BP (BP.) gaining close to 2%.Brent Crude prices gained another 1.2% to $82.75 per barrel while it was reported that US diesel stockpiles were at 20-year lows heading into the winter.Trading in Asia was positive with gains seen in China and Japan overnight, but the focus today will...

London's FTSE 100 plunged deeply into the red by close on Tuesday, reversing significant earlier gains as concerns over a global chip shortage sparked a tech sell-off in the US.The global shortage of semiconductors has put pressure on tech and carmaker stocks, which are leading the falls. The UK's benchmark index fell back below 7,000 to close 0.67% lower to 6,923.In the US the tech-heavy...

London's FTSE 100 gained 0.82% by lunchtime on Tuesday to reach 7,026.99, jumping back above the psychologically important 7,000 level as investors looked to the reopening and holidays starting again.Travel stocks in particular have been buoyed on hopes of EU tourism opening up again next month, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) gaining 2.8% to 208.5p, while...

UK stocks got off to a firm start to trading following the holiday-extended weekend with economically sensitive sectors, including miners, travel and energy, driving gains.The benchmark FTSE 100 opened around 0.6% higher, pushing back above the 7,000 market at 7,011.80 with Fresnillio's (FRES) near 3.5% at 851.4p leading the index. Travel and leisure companies also saw firm demand as Brits...

UK stocks ended Monday's session in the red as the reopening of shops and pubs across the UK failed to generate much of a market reaction.Caution prevailed as many investors decided to hold off on any big decisions as first quarter earnings season picks up pace in the US.'UK markets have remained pretty subdued as they seemed to have priced in today's lockdown easing exuberance,' explained...