Sector movers: Royal Mail, food reatilers edge higher while property stocks extend gains
11th May 2015 14:19
Spikes in Royal Mail shares, food retail, mining and property companies provided market momentum on Monday, with the FTSE 100 trading marginally down. At 16:33 BST, the blue chip index was down 0.18% or 12.41 points at 7,034.41 points as shares in Royal Mail topped the risers after rival postal f
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Royal Mail surges on Whistl funding crisis
11th May 2015 13:32
Royal Mail topped the risers after rival postal firm Whistl revealed it has halted deliveries because private equity backer LDC had pulled out of funding to help expansion efforts. Whistl said it was reviewing the viability of its London, Manchester and Liverpool due to challenging market conditions
Read moreLondon midday: Miners rise on Chinese easing, but Greek concerns limit gains
11th May 2015 12:13
UK stocks rose on Monday with miners leading the way following a rate cut in China, though upside was limited on the back of continuing concerns about Greece. After a 2.3% surge on Friday following the Conservative election victory, the FTSE 100 was up a further 0.16% at 7,058.01 by midday, though i
Read moreLondon open: Miners lead stocks higher after China rate cut
11th May 2015 09:14
UK stocks extended gains on Monday with the Footsie once again nearing record highs, as mining stocks reacted positively to another rate cut in China. After surging 2.3% on Friday in the aftermath of the Conservative's election victory, the FTSE 100 was up a further 0.37% on Monday morning at 7,073.
Read moreLondon close: Late rally not enough as UK stocks fall on election day
7th May 2015 16:33
Stocks rallied off five-week lows on Thursday afternoon but still finished firmly in the red, as election-day jitters in the UK and volatility in the European bond markets weighed on sentiment. The FTSE 100 ended the session down 0.67% at 6,886.95 having dropped as much as 1.8% in the morning sessio
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Morrisons sinks 6% as sales decline continues
7th May 2015 15:06
Morrisons was the standout mover of the day on Thursday as investors reacted to deteriorating sales trends at the grocer in its first quarter. Like-for-like sales dropped 2.9% in its first three months of the fiscal year, compared with a lesser 2.6% fall in the fourth quarter. Results were not as ba
Read moreSector movers: Oil, mining stocks up but UK political uncertainty weighs on FTSE 100
5th May 2015 13:34
Natural resources oriented stocks, including oil, mining and minerals companies, largely traded in positive territory on Tuesday but election jitters weighed on much of the FTSE 100 following the May bank holiday weekend. At 16:03 BST, the blue chip index was down 25.27 points or 0.36% at 6960.68 fe
Read moreBroker tips: Insurers, Housebuilders, Lloyds, RBS, Anglo American
5th May 2015 11:43
Barclays Capital has lowered its recommendation for the entire European insurance sector from 'neutral' to 'negative'. The broker said companies are facing "significant and growing" capital and earnings headwinds, particularly in parts of the life insurance sector. As part of the sector-wide downgra
Read moreLondon midday: Markets up but gains limited ahead of election
5th May 2015 11:37
Stocks started the shortened trading week positively on Tuesday, taking their cue from gains in Europe and the US the previous day. After being closed on Monday for the bank holiday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.38% at 7,012.52 by midday, rising for the third straight session. However, falls from HSBC, mi
Read moreRBC downgrades Anglo American to 'underperform'
5th May 2015 09:21
Mining stocks were out of favour on Tuesday in London with Anglo American in particular being pressured by a downgrade out of RBC Capital Markets. The broker cut its stance on the stock from 'sector perform' to 'underperform' and dropped its target price from 1,100p to 900p. "Low bulk prices have b
Read moreLondon close: Markets shrug off weak data as Lloyds and miners surge
1st May 2015 16:37
Strong gains from mining stocks and an impressive first-quarter performance from UK lender Lloyds helped UK markets to rise on Friday, as investors shrugged off mostly worse-than-expected economic data. "With Europe mostly out of action for May Day, it was a quiet day in London, but at least the tra
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds surges on strong first quarter profits, property stock lower
1st May 2015 13:10
Lloyds Banking Group topped the risers after delivering a bigger-than-forecast 21% jump in underlying profits in the first quarter, as impairment charges more than halved. The UK lender also lifted its net interest margin guidance for the full year and improved its capital position. Stimulus hopes w
Read moreLondon open: Lloyds beats forecasts but markets fall ahead of long weekend
1st May 2015 09:05
London stocks fell on Friday despite a better-than-expected first quarter from Lloyds Banking Group as investors were treading carefully in the absence of trading across Europe. The FTSE 100 was down 0.51% at 6,924.94 early on, with most equity markets on the continent closed for May Day. Analyst C
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: HSBC rockets on domicile review, Astra hit by heartburn rival
24th Apr 2015 13:19
HSBC topped the risers as it launched a review of its UK domicile in light of the changing regulatory landscape. Some media commentators suggested the announcement, carefully timed ahead of the general election, was politically motivated. After receiving some takeover interest in one of its division
Read moreLondon close: Mining stocks stage late rally on Chinese stimulus hopes
23rd Apr 2015 16:47
UK stocks finished higher after a choppy session on Thursday, with investors having to digest a raft of corporate earnings, mixed economic data and developments in Greece. After swinging between the red and the green for most of the day, London's FTSE 100 rallied in afternoon trade as blue-chip mine
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