London open: LSE and Easyjet lead stocks lower, oil prices spike
26th Mar 2015 08:55
UK stocks dropped sharply on Thursday morning following a steep sell-off on Wall Street, with financial and airline shares providing a drag. The FTSE 100 was down 1% at 6,919.49 early on as it continues to pull back from the fresh all-time closing high of 7,037.67 reached on Monday. The London Stoc
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to track US and Asian markets lower
26th Mar 2015 07:54
UK stocks are expected to open in negative territory on Thursday morning, tracking declines in the US and Asia overnight. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 45 points lower than Wednesday's close of 6,990.97. US markets suffered sharp declines on Wednesday as economic data continued to dis
Read moreEasyjet's first-half guidance ascends on favourable FX
26th Mar 2015 07:20
Budget airline Easyjet expects to beat previous first-half guidance, mainly due to favourable foreign exchange movements in the second quarter. The group now anticipates a positive £20m impact from FX for the six months to 31 March, compared with £10m at the time of its last guidance given in Januar
Read moreThursday preview: UK retail sales data, Easyjet reports trading statement
25th Mar 2015 15:44
UK retail sales figures on Thursday will be closely watched for signs of how much consumer spending is contributing towards economic growth. Analysts predict the latest data from the Office for National Statistics will show retail sales increased 4.2% year-on-year in February, following a 4.8% incre
Read moreEasyjet plane declares emergency on flight to Lisbon
13th Mar 2015 11:10
An Easyjet flight from London Gatwick to Lisbon declared an emergency, diverting course and descending rapidly as it flew over the Bay of Biscay. Easyjet flight U28717 sent an emergency signal, according to the Flightaware tracking system and Airlive.com. The plane began to descend as it approached
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Oil producers and miners weaker, Easyjet soars on lower costs
10th Mar 2015 14:14
Oil producers such as Tullow, Shell and BG Group led the fallers as crude prices declined. Brent futures were down 1.4% at $57.73 a barrel by noon. Meanwhile, Easyjet was flying higher on the low oil prices, as fuel costs were further minimized. G4S was also among the risers after the security grou
Read moreEasyjet passenger numbers rise in February
5th Mar 2015 08:11
Easyjet's passenger numbers rose 6.1% in February to 4.49 million compared to a year ago, the airline reported on Thursday. The company's load factor, the number of passengers to the number of seats available, rose 2.2 percentage points (pp) to 90.9%. On a rolling 12-month basis to February, passen
Read moreLondon open: Stocks edge higher as investors focus on ECB
5th Mar 2015 08:07
Stocks began the morning moving slightly higher ahead of a key policy meeting of the European Central Bank. Meeting in Cyprus, the assembled central bankers are expected to unveil the monetary authority's latest set of macroeconomic projections, which may provide clues on the extent to which its new
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Standard Chartered soars on new CEO, RBS dips after missing forecasts
26th Feb 2015 14:16
Standard Chartered surged after appointing former JPMorgan boss Bill Winters as its new chief executive, as it confirmed current head Peter Sands will step down in June. The bank also announced that chairman John Peace will step down in 2016. Mining stocks were on the rise as metal prices improved,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Centrica drops, oil and gas stocks lower
19th Feb 2015 14:14
With oil and gas prices plummeting, Centrica took dramatic action by slashing its dividend and future payout policy, warning that earnings for next year will be lower than expected too. Shares in the British Gas owner dropped sharply the company cut its dividend 21% to 19.2p, which will be a "major
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Tullow plummets on suspended dividend, BT higher on Premier League rights
11th Feb 2015 14:03
Tullow Oil topped the fallers after deciding to suspend its final dividend for 2014, as the exploration and production company swung to a loss of over $2bn on the back of hefty impairment charges and exploration write-offs. "2014 was a difficult year for our industry and a challenging one for Tullow
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end slightly higher despite mixed Eurozone news
5th Feb 2015 17:20
Mixed newsflow from the Eurozone kept financial markets busy on Thursday, though a late rally pushed UK stocks into positive territory by the close. London's FTSE 100 finished the day up just 0.1% at 6,866, but had bounced strongly after hitting an intraday low of 6,808.19. The European Central Ban
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BT higher on EE takeover Easyjet nosedives on weak passenger numbers
5th Feb 2015 14:55
BT surged after confirming reports it has settled on terms of its acquisition of EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange, saying it will be spending £12.5bn on the UK mobile network. The deal will be financed by new debt and a £1bn placing of its shares and will result in Deutsche Telekom and Orange tak
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks retreat as Greek concerns rise
5th Feb 2015 12:08
UK stocks fell for a second day on Thursday as optimism surrounding the situation in Greece began to fade and a raft of corporate earnings and updates received a mixed reaction from the market. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 6,830 by midday, though had bounced off a low of 6,808.19 reached early
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks fall as Greek optimism fades, corporate earnings mixed
5th Feb 2015 09:09
UK stocks declined on Thursday as newsflow from Greece prompted an element of caution on financial markets, as the FTSE 100 continued to retreat from a five-month high. London's blue chip index was down 0.4% at 6,836 early on, with updates from a number of blue chips receiving a mixed reaction from
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