London close: Stocks retreat from record with investors nervous ahead of busy week
13th Apr 2015 16:29
Decent gains from financial stocks were outweighed by heavy falls in the mining sector on Monday as the UK equity market pulled back from a record high reached last week. Political uncertainty and nervousness ahead of busy week had prompted a bout of profit-taking in London, with the FTSE 100 down 0
Read moreMonday broker round-up
13th Apr 2015 10:02
BP: Bank of America downgrades to neutral. BG Group: Investec upgrades to hold, Deutsche reiterates buy and 1,460p target. HSBC: Morgan Stanley upgrades to equalweight. IMI: Investec downgrades to hold. Fresnillo: Bank of America upgrades to buy. Anglo American: Citi downgrades to sell and decre
Read moreLondon close: Stocks drop into the red as M&A fever fails to sustain optimism
8th Apr 2015 17:03
The M&A fever that sent UK markets higher on Wednesday morning fizzled out towards the end of the day, with the FTSE 100 dropping into the red by the close. BG Group, which had soared as much as 40% early on, pared gains to finish 26.7% higher after the natural gas outfit recommended a £47bn takeove
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BG Group soars on Shell takeover, Sky gains on Vivendi rumours
8th Apr 2015 14:49
Shares in BG Group rocketed 32% on Wednesday after its board recommended a £47bn takeover offer from Shell. The bid values BG at around 1,350p per share, a 50% premium to its closing price of 910.4p on Tuesday. If the transaction completes, BG shareholders will be left with a 19% stake in the enlarg
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks surge on Fed rate-hike delay speculation
7th Apr 2015 08:42
UK stock markets were doing their best to play catch-up on Tuesday morning as investor risk appetite returned after the four-day weekend. London's FTSE 100 was up 1.15% at 6,911.92 in early trading. The Easter weekend has worked wonders for the markets, with the European indices looking reinvigorat
Read moreSector Movers: Consumables lead FTSE 100 higher on a dire day for miners
2nd Apr 2015 11:45
Consumables related stocks kept the FTSE 100 firmly in the green on Thursday as miners endured a pummelling from investors. At 15:50 the FTSE 100 was trading up 0.38% or 25.69 points at 6835.19 led higher by food and beverage stocks. Coca Cola HBC (up 3.85%) and Marks & Spencer (up 3.68%) topped the
Read moreLondon close: FTSE plunges 1.7% as investors take profits ahead of quarter-end
31st Mar 2015 16:31
Sharp falls from mining and tobacco stocks sent the FTSE 100 to its lowest close in two and a half weeks on Tuesday as investors used some weak economic data as an excuse to rebalance their books before the quarter-end. After briefly trading in the green early on, the Footsie finished had plunged 1.
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 books new all-time highs to close above 7000
20th Mar 2015 16:52
Dovish central banks and fading worries about Greece exiting the Eurozone propelled the London market to record fresh all-time highs on Friday. At Friday's close, the FTSE 100 index stood strong at 7022.51, up 0.8% on the day, off a touch from its session high of 7024.21. "The FTSE 100's landmark m
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: CRH higher on merger agreement, Next hit by downgrade
20th Mar 2015 12:53
CRH was the biggest gainer on the Footsie after building materials giants Lafarge and Holcim agreed upon terms for a merger. Shares in Tullow Oil surged after the West Africa-focused exploration outfit announced it had successfully negotiated for access to £450m in fresh financing. Morrison was als
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Next slumps on weak outlook, tobacco stocks lower
19th Mar 2015 13:44
Shares in Next slumped as the fashion retailer took a cautious view of the outlook for the 2015-2016 financial year, saying some of its collections are "not as strong as they were at this point last year". Tobacco stocks such as British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Group were among the wors
Read moreLondon close: FTSE jumps 1.6% after business-friendly Budget, Fed meeting ahead
18th Mar 2015 16:41
Those expecting little market reaction to the Budget on Wednesday were probably left surprised, with stocks in the energy, financial, housing and consumer staples sectors leading the surge in London following George Osborne's statement. Dovish comments from Bank of England policymakers were also buo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Standard Chartered surges on upgrades, miners lower
18th Mar 2015 12:58
Shares in Standard Chartered surged after analysts at Barclays and Bernstein raised their ratings, highlighting the recent appointment of a former JPMorgan banker as its new boss. Barclays lifted their stance from 'equal weight' to 'overweight', while Bernstein upgraded by two notches from 'underper
Read moreLondon open: Mining stocks lift FTSE but Morrisons slumps after results
12th Mar 2015 09:05
A rebound in the mining sector pushed UK markets higher for a second day on Thursday as stocks continue to recover after a steep sell-off earlier in the week. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.75% at 6,771.66 in early deals with metal producers rising strongly after stronger-than-expected Chinese lending d
Read moreSector movers: Antofagasta leads miners lower on weak China data, metal prices
11th Mar 2015 14:35
Falling metal prices, subdued risk appetite and weak Chinese economic data were weighing on mining stocks on Wednesday, with Antofagasta among the worst performers. A surge in the dollar on increased speculation about a sooner-than-expected rate rise in the States has dampened commodity prices over
Read moreLondon close: FTSE plunges 2.5% to seven-week low as commodity stocks tank
10th Mar 2015 16:33
A stronger US dollar and falling commodity prices led to a rout in the heavyweight energy and mining sectors on Tuesday, pushing the FTSE 100 down 2.5% to its lowest level in seven weeks. The Footsie ended the day down 173.63 points at 6,702.84, with ongoing concerns about Greece further weighing on
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