London open: Stocks snap losing streak on central bank hopes
30th Mar 2015 08:35
UK stocks were snapping a four-day losing streak on Monday morning as hopes for central bank support repaired sentiment. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.58% at 6,894.60 early on. "The FTSE saw tentative gains this morning as the UK index tried to stall the four consecutive days of huge losses that saw t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Carnival lifted by strong results, airline stocks rebound
27th Mar 2015 13:12
Carnival topped the risers as strong first-quarter results prompted a lift in full year earnings guidance. It boasted that advance bookings for the remainder of 2015 were steaming ahead of the prior year and at higher prices. "We are experiencing an on-going improvement in underlying fundamentals ba
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 books new all-time highs to close above 7000
20th Mar 2015 16:52
Dovish central banks and fading worries about Greece exiting the Eurozone propelled the London market to record fresh all-time highs on Friday. At Friday's close, the FTSE 100 index stood strong at 7022.51, up 0.8% on the day, off a touch from its session high of 7024.21. "The FTSE 100's landmark m
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: CRH higher on merger agreement, Next hit by downgrade
20th Mar 2015 12:53
CRH was the biggest gainer on the Footsie after building materials giants Lafarge and Holcim agreed upon terms for a merger. Shares in Tullow Oil surged after the West Africa-focused exploration outfit announced it had successfully negotiated for access to £450m in fresh financing. Morrison was als
Read moreSector movers: Antofagasta leads miners lower on weak China data, metal prices
11th Mar 2015 14:35
Falling metal prices, subdued risk appetite and weak Chinese economic data were weighing on mining stocks on Wednesday, with Antofagasta among the worst performers. A surge in the dollar on increased speculation about a sooner-than-expected rate rise in the States has dampened commodity prices over
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Oil producers and miners weaker, Easyjet soars on lower costs
10th Mar 2015 14:14
Oil producers such as Tullow, Shell and BG Group led the fallers as crude prices declined. Brent futures were down 1.4% at $57.73 a barrel by noon. Meanwhile, Easyjet was flying higher on the low oil prices, as fuel costs were further minimized. G4S was also among the risers after the security grou
Read moreLondon close: Stocks retreat as Fed rate fears outweigh ECB stimulus
6th Mar 2015 16:36
One day after loose monetary policy in Europe pushed UK stocks to a new record high, fears about a sooner-than-expected tightening in the States dragged markets lower on Friday after a forecast-smashing US jobs report. Mining stocks were providing a drag in London as commodity prices weakened in the
Read moreM&A set heat up in mining sector as ex-Xstrata boss hunts deals
5th Mar 2015 10:47
M&A activity in the mining sector is set to heat up following reports on Thursday that former Xstrata boss Mick Davis is looking to take advantage of cheaper commodity prices to snap up some assets. According to a report in Wall Street Journal, Mick Davis, who was formerly the chief executive of Xst
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as PBOC rate cut underwhelms
2nd Mar 2015 15:37
Mining stocks declined on Monday as investors shrugged off some improving economic data from top metals user China and a rate cut by its central bank in an attempt to boost growth. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point for the second time in three month
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks hit new record high on China rate cut
2nd Mar 2015 08:52
UK stocks rose modestly to a new record high on Monday morning on the back of gains in the banking and mining sectors, tracking a strong performance on Asian markets overnight after a rate cut in China. The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 6,969.46 within the opening hour, having risen as high as 6,972.01 in
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BHP higher after beating forecasts, Meggitt hit by falling profits
24th Feb 2015 12:59
Mining giant BHP Billiton jumped after beating forecasts with a less-than-expected decline in earnings in the first half. Underlying operating profits fell 12.3% year-on-year to $14.49bn, compared with consensus forecasts of $13.62bn. The group also pledged to keep its dividend policy unchanged desp
Read moreAnglo CEO sells £0.4m of shares to cover tax payment
23rd Feb 2015 16:38
Anglo American's boss offloaded nearly £0.4m-worth of shares in the mining group on Monday, the company said. Some 67,475 shares in Anglo, representing part of a bonus award granted to Mark Cutifani upon his appointment to the board, vested last week. Cutifani, who has been chief executive since Ap
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: HSBC lower on tax scandal fines, LSE boosted by higher price target
23rd Feb 2015 14:59
HSBC was among the fallers after reporting a 17% drop in pre-tax annual profit to $18.68bn, as the lender was hit by fines for its involvement in the foreign exchange rigging scandal. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said 2014 was a "challenging year in which we continued to work hard to improve busi
Read morePanmure Gordon picks out "most vulnerable" UK dividends
18th Feb 2015 13:27
Panmure Gordon has warned of "storm clouds on the horizon" for income investors as corporate payouts reach "unsustainable" levels and has picked out several FTSE 350 companies where dividends appear particularly vulnerable. Although the UK economy has begun 2015 in rude health, the broker pointed ou
Read moreLondon close: FTSE closing in on record high as commodity stocks rally
13th Feb 2015 16:30
UK stocks jumped on Friday as rising commodity prices lifted shares in the oil and mining sectors, while hopes increased that Europe can come to an agreement over the future of Greece. The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 6,873.52 by the end of trade, its best finish since early September 2014. The index is no
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