London afternoon: Miners drag down Footsie
8th Mar 2011 14:34
Mining stocks are weighing heavily on Footsie as the price of gold and copper moved lower today. Precious metal miners Randgold Resources and African Barrick are the big fallers in the sector, but even copper miner Antofagasta is under the cosh, despite announcing it is to pay a huge special divid
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 still seeking direction
8th Mar 2011 12:03
Shares are still seeking direction, with the Libyan turmoil continuing to dominate the headlines. US light crude for April delivery fell $1.60 to $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others are going to raise output to keep the global economic recovery on track. The easing in prices came after Kuwai
Read moreLondon open: Oil to dominate again
8th Mar 2011 08:47
Oil and Libya are set to dominate again after yesterday's frantic trading on oil markets. US light crude for April delivery is currently down $1.60 at $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others are going to raise output to keep the global economic recovery on track. That has taken some of the pressu
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to regain lost ground
8th Mar 2011 07:41
It looks like UK shares could recapture pretty much all of yesterday's losses in early trade as oil prices pull back from 29-month highs. Futures prices indicate a 15-point gain for the FTSE 100. US light crude for April delivery is currently down $1.60 at $103.84 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and others
Read moreAntofagasta pays $1 special as profits top $1bn
8th Mar 2011 07:12
Copper miner Antofagasta is to pay a huge special dividend after profits last year crashed through the $1bn mark as output rose and prices soared. The Chile-based group will pay out 116c per share in total for 2010 including a special payment of 100c. In 2009, it paid 23.4c with a 14c special. Ne
Read moreLondon open: Miners lift Footsie
1st Mar 2011 08:50
Overnight gains on Wall Street and an improvement in Asia this morning have propelled London higher first thing Tuesday. Copper miners Antofagasta and Kazakhmys are the best performers so far. CD and computer games retailer HMV has issued another profits warning and begun talks with its banks abou
Read moreLondon close: Shares slump as Libya worries linger
23rd Feb 2011 16:52
More weakness in the US helped send shares in London sharply lower, with the Libyan crisis and the consequent higher oil price weighing on sentiment. Brent crude for April delivery surged to more than $109 per barrel shortly after 2pm, though it has dipped down below $109 again since then. The $3+
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners lead the fall
23rd Feb 2011 14:20
Declining metals prices have pushed Antofagasta, Xstrata and Fresnillo lower. Consumer packaging giant Rexam has been hit by profit-taking even though it grew underlying profit by a bigger than expected 45% in 2010 and expects further progress this year. Profit before tax and exceptional items jum
Read moreLondon open: Footsie through 6,000 again
7th Feb 2011 08:53
After an uncertain start, Footsie has now pushed on through the 6,000 barrier as miners rally from some early profit taking. Gold miner Randgold Resources shrugged off operational and political setbacks in 2010 to post a sharp increase in profit, helped by the increase in the price of gold. Profi
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 soars as Egypt worries ease
1st Feb 2011 16:51
Well-received company updates, strong economic figures here and elsewhere and an easing of worries related to the situation in Egypt helped UK shares to strong gains. Miners led the advance, after strong growth in manufacturing in commodity hungry China in January. The UK, eurozone and US also had
Read moreLondon afternoon: Miners and techs in demand
1st Feb 2011 14:15
Shares added to the morning's gains over the lunchtime session, buoyed by the prospect of a firm start on Wall Street. Miners lead the advance, after strong growth in Chinese manufacturing in January, though technology stocks are also in demand. Mining giant Xstrata produced more coking coal, sem
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tech and miners prosper
1st Feb 2011 13:28
Technology and mining firms are dominating Footsie today. Search software provider Autonomy Corporation is the best performer even though there are concerns that its growth rate is slowing. Broker Peel Hunt is cautious about Autonomy's future and points out that there is a risk that 2011 forecasts
Read moreLondon midday: Shares add more gains
1st Feb 2011 12:07
Shares have moved higher following a decent start this morning, with upbeat company statements spurring buying interest. Strong growth in Chinese manufacturing and hopes of a peaceful resolution to the Egyptian crisis have also cheered investors. Here, the UK manufacturing purchasing managers' inde
Read moreLondon open: Good start for blue chips
1st Feb 2011 08:42
Overnight gains on Wall Street and a positive session in the Far East sent London's blue chip index past 5,900 in early trading. Concern over the situation in Egypt eased a little yesterday, though tensions still remain very high and the oil price spiked higher. Miner, Centamin Egypt said "Recent
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie stabilises at lower level
28th Jan 2011 12:19
London fell sharply in early dealings on the back of weak overseas markets but it has spent most of the day around the 5,920 mark. S&P's decision to cut its credit rating for Japan and some poor company results hurt the Nikkei in Tokyo on Friday and this has spilled over into London. The market i
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