London close: Footsie flatlines
7th Jan 2010 16:46
A late afternoon rally fizzled out to leave London's blue chip index little changed on the day. Banks emerged from a sticky start as the day's best performers led by Barclays and Lloyds Bank, which both received decent write-ups in an otherwise cautious broker note from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. It
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreLondon midday: Bank sits on hands
7th Jan 2010 11:51
London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged. Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie'
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset strong supermarkets
7th Jan 2010 08:14
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, offsetting strong demand in supermarket groups. Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are among the worst performers. On the positive side, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mo
Read moreLondon pre-open: Lower start expected
7th Jan 2010 07:38
Footsie is expected to give up some of its recent gains in early dealings as the company news flow picks up following the Christmas break. Sainsbury's said a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales
Read moreAstra and Teva kiss and make up
7th Jan 2010 07:01
Drugs firm AstraZeneca has come to an agreement with Israel-based rival Teva Pharmaceuticals generic version of Astra’s Nexium ulcer capsules. Astra will withdraw its patent litigation against Teva and has granted Teva a licence to enter the US market with its generic esomeprazole on 27 May 2014, s
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at 15-month high
24th Dec 2009 12:28
Miners pushed London sharply higher in a shortened trading session Thursday, getting the leading index up to 5,400 briefly and to its highest close since September 2008. Silver producer Fresnillo is top of the table on stronger metal prices, with BHP Billiton, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto also h
Read moreLondon open: Markets move sideways ahead of early close
24th Dec 2009 08:36
London is winding down ahead of the Christmas break with Footsie trading sideways in very light activity. Dismal travelling conditions may have encouraged those going away for the break to leave early, especially as trading finishes at lunchtime today. News is also very thin. US private equity gro
Read moreLondon pre-open: Heading higher again
24th Dec 2009 07:33
London appears determined to enter the Christmas break in festive spirit, with the leading index seen higher at the start after Wall Street eventually shrugged off weak housing data. Futures prices indicate an early gain of about 15 points for the FTSE 100, although trading is expected to be very l
Read moreAstra submits respiratory treatment response to FDA
24th Dec 2009 07:11
Drug maker AstraZeneca said its biologics unit, Medimmune, has filed a Complete Response Letter (CRL) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in respect of its Biologics Licence Application (BLA) for motavizumab. The FDA had asked for additional information regarding motavizumab on 25 November
Read moreLondon close: Footsie hits one-month high
23rd Dec 2009 16:23
The UK's leading index lost a chunk of its gains late on as weak housing data hurt Wall Street, although London still registered its best close in over a month. Despite predictably quiet trade, the FTSE 100 ended ahead for the third session in a row and as high as it's been since 16 November. It w
Read moreAstraZeneca pays up to $½bn for French antibiotics firm
23rd Dec 2009 15:49
AstraZeneca has done a deal to buy French private infection research company Novexel for as much as $505m (£316m). The Anglo-Swedish drug giant will pay an initial $350m (£219m) in cash plus an extra $75m (£47m) if certain milestones are achieved. Another $80m (£50m), equivalent to the French group
Read moreLondon close: Oils and pharmas shine
22nd Dec 2009 17:09
London equities added to the previous day's gains although a late pull-back ensured that rises were not as extensive as yesterday. Oil stocks and pharmaceuticals led the way higher. Cairn Energy enjoyed another strong day after it announced yesterday that it would start its drilling programme in G
Read moreUK close: FTSE 100 closes higher
16th Dec 2009 16:43
Footsie ended with gains as better than expected UK unemployment figures lifted sentiment. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the first time since February 2008 in November amid further signs the UK economy is beginning to recover from the economic downturn. The claimant
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks lack direction
16th Dec 2009 14:30
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie dipping a toe into negative territory despite better than expected UK unemployment figures announced this morning. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for the first time since February 2008 in November amid further signs the UK economy
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