London open: Another bright start
11th Jan 2010 08:49
London's top stocks have opened strongly with good gains for resource stocks sending the index sharply higher. Cairn Energy leads the oil sector, while demand is strong for Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Fresnillo among the miners. Silver miner Fresnillo has also dropped out of the race for Canadian mini
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early gains ahead
11th Jan 2010 07:32
London's top stocks look set to open with good gains with traders expecting Footsie to add 24 points in early dealings. Cash strapped plumbers merchant Wolseley is to raise just under £24m from the sale of its Irish businesses. WIBHM, a company backed by private investor, is paying €26.5m for Wols
Read moreFresnillo concedes defeat in Canplats battle
11th Jan 2010 07:13
Silver miner Fresnillo said over the week-end that its joint venture, Minera Penmont, is throwing in the towel in its bid for Canadian mining company Canplats Resources. Minera Penmont has said it will not be revising its bid after the Canplats board recommended the ‘superior proposal’ from bullion
Read moreLondon 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 moreBroker tips: Miners, Tate & Lyle
7th Jan 2010 14:32
Cazenove remains ‘overweight’ on the mining sector and expects some aggressive increases to consensus EPS forecasts for 2010. Last year was a ‘tremendous’ one for mining stocks and the broker believes some favourable, ‘albeit slightly tired themes’ remain, like BRIC economic growth, infrastructure
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 moreBroker snap: Caz still backs miners
7th Jan 2010 10:20
Cazenove remains 'overweight' on the mining sector and expects some aggressive increases to consensus EPS forecasts for 2010. Last year was a 'tremendous' one for mining stocks and the broker believes some favourable, 'albeit slightly tired themes' remain, like BRIC economic growth, infrastructure
Read moreLondon close: Footsie ends year 22% higher
31st Dec 2009 12:48
More gains for FTSE 100 on the last day of 2009 capped a year of strong recovery from the ravages of the economic crisis. The leading share index posted a 22% rise - its best yearly performance since 1997 -as shares recovered from the sharp declines that began as the financial crisis intensified t
Read moreLondon close: Dull day for blue chips
30th Dec 2009 16:44
Footsie closed near its low for the day after banks and miners turned down on very low volumes ahead of a short day's trading tomorrow. A flat start on Wall Street didn't help, but it was Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered that led the the banks down while miners Fresnillo, Rio
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks slip lower
30th Dec 2009 11:43
Tops stocks are lower with two of the bigger sectors of the market weighing. Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered are down amongst the banks while miners Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Lonmin and Anglo American also fall. Petrofac, the oil services firm, is outperforming after news of
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 moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners buoyed by China talk
24th Dec 2009 11:13
Miners continue to drive Footsie higher, with silver miner Fresnillo leading the sector higher today. Reports yesterday quoted Chinese sources as saying that it could start to increase its imports of commodities for its strategic reserves at an "appropriate" time. This was taken as a signal China
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 moreLondon afternoon: Gains trimmed
23rd Dec 2009 14:16
London saw its gains pared over the lunch time session in predictably quiet trading. Around one-third of Footsie constituents are now in the red, compared to around one-fifth at midday. Included among the laggards is Cairn Energy, which gives back some of the chunky gains racked up over the first t
Read moreLondon midday: M&A activity keeps shares bubbling
23rd Dec 2009 12:14
The FTSE 100 index hit a 52-week high in the morning session as the pre-Christmas advance continued. Bank of England policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates at 0.5% and their programme of quantitative easing (QE) at £200bn when they met earlier this month, it emerged today. Mining gi
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