London midday: Stocks slip after surprise increase in jobless rate

19th Feb 2014 11:41

- UK jobless rate rises to 7.2 per cent, above estimates - MPC votes unanimously to leave policy unchanged - Ex-div stocks provide a drag on FTSE - Sports Direct jumps after Q3 update techMARK 2,855.22 -0.93% FTSE 100 6,761.33 -0.52% FTSE 250 16,233.58 -0.66% UK markets pulled back from a four-w

Read more

London open: Stocks pause at four-week high ahead of data, BoE minutes

19th Feb 2014 08:16

- Markets at highest since January 22nd - UK labour-market data due out, BoE minutes - Sports Direct, M&S, BAE Systems lead the upside - Ex-div stocks weigh techMARK 2,878.02 -0.14% FTSE 100 6,798.45 +0.03% FTSE 250 16,340.79 -0.01% UK stocks opened more or less flat on Wednesday morning after th

Read more

Sunday newspaper round-up: Barclays, RSA, Vodafone

9th Feb 2014 09:06

Barclays is preparing to cut its investment bank by a fifth to appease the Bank of England (BoE), the Sunday Times reported. Chief Executive Antony Jenkins will announce the plan to sell £150bn of assets and slash annual costs by £1.7bn with the bank's full-year results on February 11th. The investm

Read more

London midday: Stocks flat as investors await US data with caution

7th Feb 2014 11:41

- Markets flat ahead of US jobs report - Stocks pause after ECB-inspired rally on Thursday - Data disappoints from China, UK, Germany techMARK 2,788.33 +0.33% FTSE 100 6,564.10 +0.09% FTSE 250 15,837.69 +0.30% The FTSE 100 was more or less flat by midday on Friday after trading within a narrow ran

Read more

Friday broker round-up UPDATE

7th Feb 2014 09:30

Acal: N+1 Singer initiates with a target price of 380p and a buy recommendation. AstraZeneca: Societe Generale ups target price from 3030p to 3126p, but still recommends selling. Barratt Developments: Deutsche Bank raises target price from 394p to 480p keeping a buy recommendation. Beazley: Canac

Read more

London open: Markets pause ahead of US jobs data, stocks flat

7th Feb 2014 08:37

- Non-farm payrolls estimated at 180,000 - China services PMI falls to 50.9 - Tate & Lyle upgraded by JPMorgan to 'overweight' - Shires stops development of depression drug techMARK 2,781.99 +0.10% FTSE 100 6,561.78 +0.05% FTSE 250 15,827.61 +0.24% The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Friday morning w

Read more

London close: Markets bounce back on ECB promise

6th Feb 2014 16:50

- ECB ready and willing to act - Vodafone and SuperGroup lead gains - All eyes on Friday´s US jobs report techMARK 2,779.24 +1.25% FTSE 100 6,558.28 +1.55% FTSE 250 15,789.91 +1.47% After a cautious start, UK markets pushed firmly into positive territory on Thursday after European Central Bank (EC

Read more

FTSE 100 movers: Vodafone, Smith & Nephew rise as results beat forecasts

6th Feb 2014 12:51

Telecoms giant Vodafone gained on Thursday after third-quarter revenue declined by a less-than-expected 3.6 per cent. Chief Executive Vittorio Colao also said he was optimistic that sales trends would begin to improve. Medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew also beat analysts' forecasts as i

Read more

London midday: Stocks push higher ahead of ECB as BoE holds rates

6th Feb 2014 11:28

- BoE keeps policy on hold - ECB decision, press conference in focus - US futures higher ahead of data techMARK 2,769.50 +0.89% FTSE 100 6,517.70 +0.93% FTSE 250 15,697.91 +0.88% After a cautious start, UK markets pushed firmly into positive territory on Thursday and were registering decent gains

Read more

London open: Stocks rise but upside limited ahead of busy session

6th Feb 2014 08:29

- Stocks await economic data, policy decisions - ECB rate cut on the cards - Blue-chip updates come in mixed techMARK 2,750.64 +0.21% FTSE 100 6,465.58 +0.12% FTSE 250 15,605.64 +0.28% UK markets opened with small gains on Thursday morning as investors reacted to a number of blue-chip results, th

Read more

London pre-open: Stocks seen higher ahead of data, policy meetings

6th Feb 2014 07:22

Stocks are expected to open with decent gains on Thursday morning as investors take an optimistic approach ahead of what is set to be a busy day for financial markets. City sources predict that London's benchmark FTSE 100 index will open around 30 points higher yesterday's close of 6,457.89. The

Read more

AstraZeneca's annual results hurt by generic rivals

6th Feb 2014 07:09

- Annual revenue and profit fall - Rival generic brands impact results - 2014 revenue expected to drop AstraZeneca's 2013 annual revenue fell six per cent to 25.7 dollars as the drug maker was hurt by competition from generic brands. The company lost exclusive rights on products including Seroquel

Read more

Sector movers: Pharmaceuticals gain after Glaxo results

5th Feb 2014 15:07

Pharmaceuticals stocks were among the better performers on Wednesday after fourth-quarter sales from sector giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) impressed. GSK, which has a market capitalisation of over £76bn, said that turnover edged up 2% to £6.9bn in the last three months of 2013; ahead of analysts who h

Read more

AstraZeneca completes acquisition of diabetes business

3rd Feb 2014 14:38

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has completed the acquisition of Bristol-Meyers Squibb's interest in the company's diabetes alliance. The company, which has produced a new drug pipeline, completed the acquisition on February 1st. The FTSE 100 constituent now owns and has full rights of the inte

Read more

Sunday newspaper round-up: RBS, Centrica, Vodafone

2nd Feb 2014 17:27

The Bank of England will question Royal Bank of Scotland over its capital position in the next two weeks, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The BoE's Prudential Regulatory Authority arm will call in RBS boss Ross McEwan to check on the bank's capital strength in light of his strategy review, due Februa

Read more