London close: Late decline wipes out gains
18th Dec 2009 16:43
Footsie ended lower having spent most of the day in positive territory. Financials led the market down and cruise operator Carnival's lower quarterly profit did not help. Most of the miners ended the day higher but they lost some of their earlier gains. Having been hit hard yesterday following the
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners decouple from dollar
18th Dec 2009 14:47
Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Vedanta and Xstrata are the best of a generally buoyant mining sector, which had been weak recently as the dollar has rallied against the euro. The best performing blue-chip is knee and hip joint supplier Smith & Nephew after UBS bumped up its price target for
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks in consolidation mode
18th Dec 2009 14:21
Blue-chips moved sideways over the lunch-time session, consolidating the morning's gains. Goldman Sachs has given a lift to the oil sector, tipping BP as the 'clear winner' among oil companies next year, though it also rates UK operators BG and Royal Dutch Shell over their continental European coun
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks amble higher
18th Dec 2009 12:10
Leading shares are mixed with a slightly firmer bias, helped by the strength of resource stocks. Gold miner Randgold Resources leads the mining sector higher as the gold price stabilises after falling heavily overnight. Elsewhere in the sector BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta catch the eye.
Read moreLondon close: Banks spooked by higher capital call
17th Dec 2009 16:34
Banks sank on a call for tougher capital requirements and coupled with a weak mining sector it meant a poor day in London. Lloyds Banking took a pasting, while Standard Chartered and Barclays were also among the worst performers. The Basel Committee of central bankers and supervisors called for st
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks lead market lower
17th Dec 2009 15:48
Banks fell after the US Federal Reserve pointed out that it will end its special liquidity measures early next year. Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays are the biggest fallers. Mining companies were also much lower because the strength of the dollar has hit commodity prices. Xstrata and Antofagasta
Read moreLondon afternoon: Barclays hit by lawsuit
17th Dec 2009 13:55
Footsie remains deep in negative territory, and with US markets set to open lower, there is no prospect of a boost from Wall Street. Banks and miners are responsible for much of the blue-chip index's fall. Lloyds Banking is leading the fallers, while Standard Chartered and Barclays are also among t
Read moreLondon midday: Shares slip as banks and miners slide
17th Dec 2009 12:09
Falls across the board for the heavyweight bank and mining sectors are keeping Footsie firmly in the red. Lloyds Banking is leading the blue chip fallers, while Standard Chartered and Barclays are also among the worst performers. Among the miners, Antofagasta, Eurasian Natural Resources and Xstrat
Read moreLondon open: Banks and miners lead fall
17th Dec 2009 08:49
Weak miners and banking shares are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday. UK shares were expected to start the session in the red after Wall Street fell following the latest Federal Reserve rate decision and stimulus update. The central bank said interest rates would stay
Read moreLondon close: Losses narrow
15th Dec 2009 16:33
Top shares fought back late afternoon to halve losses, but most financial issues stayed lower, while oil plays also ended friendless. Turmoil in the Greek banking sector since credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country's sovereign debt last week continued to hurt. Barclays and HSBC were am
Read moreLondon close: Financials lift Footsie
14th Dec 2009 16:58
Footsie began the week with good gains as the day got off to a strong start following news that Abu Dhabi is to bail out its troubled fellow Emirate Dubai. Investors piled into LSE, Standard Chartered and HSBC as the threat of possible huge bad debts recedes. An upgrade by Credit Suisse, which hi
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie up over 1%
14th Dec 2009 14:52
The UK's leading shares are finding plenty of support after a strong start on Wall Street and the Dubai bail-out. Investors have piled into LSE, Standard Chartered and HSBC as the threat of possible huge bad debts recedes. An upgrade by Credit Suisse, which highlighted the low exposure to Dubai a
Read moreSunday tips round-up: Antofagasta, Debenhams, Shanks
13th Dec 2009 11:20
Antofagasta's balance sheet remains strong, with cash balances of $2.95bn (£1.8bn) as of September 30 this year. The group's production growth is highlighted in its prospective earnings multiples. The shares are trading on a December 2009 earnings multiple of 22.5, but this falls to 13.3 in 2010 and
Read moreLondon close: Modest gains for FTSE 100
11th Dec 2009 16:55
Footsie finished the week with modest gains as miners rallied following strong economic data from China. Industrial production growth in China rose again in November to hit 19.1% year-on-year. It is fastest pace of growth in industrial production since June 2007. In UK economic news, factory ga
Read moreLondon afternoon: China data lifts miners
11th Dec 2009 14:30
Mining stocks are more than offsetting losses on banks, as metal prices pick up following some strong economic data from China. Industrial production growth in China rose again in November to hit 19.1% year-on-year. It is fastest pace of growth in industrial production since June 2007. In UK eco
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