London close: Markets hammered by fears over US labour market
5th Apr 2013 17:03
A lacklustre US employment report resulted in a market sell-off across global indices on Friday afternoon as the American economy added much fewer jobs than expected in March. Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that the optimism surrounding the US recovery "has been shattered in the space
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks tank as eyes turn to US jobs data
5th Apr 2013 11:28
Stocks across Europe were under heavy selling pressure on Friday morning as traders refrained from building positions ahead of the all-important employment report due out Stateside this afternoon. "We're seeing a lot of caution in the markets on Friday, ahead of what is expected to be a disappointi
Read moreLondon open: Markets nervous ahead of US jobs data
5th Apr 2013 08:27
Markets declined on Friday morning, despite relative strength in the mining sector, as traders refrained from building positions ahead of the key risk event of the day - the US employment report. The market reaction to the non-farm payrolls figure will be interesting to see, given the somewhat disa
Read moreLondon pre-open: Markets await US employment data
5th Apr 2013 07:35
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up three points from yesterday's close of 6,344, as investors await employment data from the US. The closely-watched US employment report for March will be released today, and consensus estimates are for a 199,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March,
Read moreAstraZeneca unveils positive results for arthritis treatment study
5th Apr 2013 07:14
Biopharmaceutical business AstraZeneca has unveiled positive results from a study of fostamatinib, an oral drug being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the FTSE 100 company's phase III study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of fostamatinib, the drug achieved a "sta
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Barclays, Chemring, AstraZeneca
4th Apr 2013 07:20
Yesterday's Salz report into what went wrong at Barclays makes for interesting reading but adds little to the promises which have already been made. Nevertheless, it does shine a light on some problems, such as that of high pay for average performers. In any case, the review will help hold the new g
Read moreBroker tips: AstraZeneca, IMI, WPP
2nd Apr 2013 12:16
JPMorgan Cazenove has upgraded its rating for drugmaker AstraZeneca from 'underweight' to 'neutral' and lifted its price target for the stock from 2,750p to 3,400p, causing shares to edged higher on Tuesday. "We continue to model AZN's earnings trough in 2017, however, as the pipeline matures and b
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise, M&A speculation boosts Vodafone
2nd Apr 2013 11:36
The FTSE 100 had gained one per cent by Tuesday lunchtime as traders made up for lost time following a long four-day weekend for the Easter holidays. Telecoms giant Vodafone was leading the risers on London's benchmark index on the back of speculation that it could be involved in the biggest M&A d
Read moreBroker snap: JPMorgan upgrades AstraZeneca to 'neutral'
2nd Apr 2013 10:46
JPMorgan Cazenove has upgraded its rating for drugmaker AstraZeneca from 'underweight' to 'neutral' and lifted its price target for the stock from 2,750p to 3,400p, causing shares to edged higher on Tuesday. The broker said that Astra's strategy day on March 22nd "shifted the focus from how to plug
Read moreLondon open: Markets rise after long weekend, Vodafone provides a lift
2nd Apr 2013 08:33
UK stocks began Tuesday's session with solid gains after the long Easter weekend with the focus once again turning to Cyprus ahead of meetings with the Troika this week. Even though Cyprus has already been granted an extension from 2016 to 2017 to achieve a primary budget surplus, government spoke
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
2nd Apr 2013 08:28
Afren: Liberum Capital shifts target price from 123p to 130p maintaining a hold recommendation. Amara Mining: Numis initiates with a target price of 80p and a buy recommendation. APR Energy: Espirito Santo downgrades to sell with a target price of 680p. ASOS: Goldman Sachs increases target price
Read moreEuropean broker round-up
2nd Apr 2013 07:56
Top European stock recommendations of the day: - AstraZeneca: JP Morgan upgrades to NEUTRAL from underweight. - Basf: Morgan Stanley reiterates OVERWEIGHT rating and raises price target to €85.00 from €80.00. - E.ON: HSBC upgrades to NEUTRAL from underweight and raises price target to €14.00 from
Read moreAstraZeneca to contest US court ruling over asthma medicine
2nd Apr 2013 07:44
Drugmaker AstraZeneca announced Tuesday that a US court ruled that its patent protecting its medicine Pulmicort Respules in the nation is invalid. The company said it strongly disagreed with the District Court of New Jersey's decision over the drug, which is used for the treatment of asthma. "Ast
Read moreLondon close: Gains erased as Cypriot optimism proves short-lived
25th Mar 2013 17:04
The initial enthusiasm surrounding the last-minute deal to save Cyprus from financial collapse proved short-lived on Monday as comments from the head of the Eurogroup weighed on sentiment in afternoon trade. Meanwhile, rumours of a possible Italian downgrade from Moody's added to the gloomy mood la
Read moreLondon midday: Financials provide a boost after 11th-hour deal in Cyprus
25th Mar 2013 11:35
Financial stocks were performing well on Monday morning, pushing the FTSE 100 one per cent higher, following Cyprus' 11th-hour deal with the Troika to save itself from financial collapse. "Cyprus has avoided becoming the first country to default on its debt and exit the Eurozone, after agreeing on
Read more