London close: Markets fall but Shire leads late rally
25th Jul 2013 17:08
Markets closer firmly in negative territory on Thursday after corporate earnings came in mixed, but the FTSE 100 finished well off its intraday lows following a surge from Shire and upbeat economic data in the States. London's benchmark index finished 32 points lower at 6,588. Investors gave a pre
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Corporate earnings spark mixed reaction
25th Jul 2013 14:09
Mixed reactions to corporate earnings provided some sharp swings in share prices both ways on Thursday, with Rolls-Royce, Shire and Reed Elsevier rising strongly and Capita, Unilever, BT Group and Johnson Matthey falling into the red. Rolls-Royce Holdings jumped after reporting a 34% jump in pre-t
Read moreLondon midday: Markets shrug off UK growth as earnings disappoint
25th Jul 2013 12:07
An expected pick-up in UK economic growth in the second quarter wasn't enough to lift London's FTSE 100 into positive territory on Thursday morning as markets reacted to a series of disappointing results from a number of blue-chip firms. Capita, BT Group, Unilever and Johnson Matthey were all tradi
Read moreLondon open: Markets fall ahead of busy day for economic data
25th Jul 2013 08:29
Markets opened lower on Thursday morning as investors digested a raft of economic data and looked ahead to a series of key economic indicators due for release later on. The IFO survey on the business climate in Germany during July is due out this morning, along with the first estimate of second-qua
Read moreLondon close: Gains erased after US data misses forecasts
23rd Jul 2013 16:28
Worse-than-expected economic data from the US saw markets across Europe erase their earlier gains on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 fell into the red despite a strong performance in the mining sector.. Home prices in the States continued to increase in May but at a worse-than-expected rate: the Federal H
Read moreSector movers: Hopes over Chinese growth drive mining stocks higher
23rd Jul 2013 15:00
Stocks in the mining sectors were shrugging off falls in metals prices on Tuesday with share prices surging as markets focused on upbeat comments from government officials in China, a huge importer of raw materials. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is reported to have stood by the government target for e
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners jump; Tullow sinks after well update
23rd Jul 2013 14:44
Mining stocks were among the best performing stocks on Tuesday as concerns over a 'hard landing' in China were eased by comments from the Premier and his second in command. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is reported to have stood by the government target for economic growth of 7.5% in 2013 and assured
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 lifted by Sage, mining stocks
23rd Jul 2013 11:38
A well-received trading update from Sage Group and strong gains in the mining sector lifted the FTSE 100 into positive territory on Tuesday morning, with sentiment lifted by reassuring comments about Chinese economic growth. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is reported to have stood by the government ta
Read moreLondon open: Miners jump on hopes over Chinese growth
23rd Jul 2013 08:17
Fading hopes of a 'hard landing' in China lifted stocks in the heavyweight mining sector on Tuesday, meaning that the FTSE 100 opened with solid gains early on. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang assured that economic growth would not fall below the bottom line this year of 7.0%. He called for the governme
Read moreLondon close: Markets finish lower, earnings in focus this week
22nd Jul 2013 16:38
The FTSE 100 finished slightly lower on Monday as upcoming corporate earnings came into focus on a quiet day for economic data worldwide. Michael Hewson, Senior Market Analyst at CMC Markets, said: "With markets trading at multi-week highs investors appear to be adopting a 'wait and see' approach a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo, Randgold, BG Group
22nd Jul 2013 13:07
Fresnillo and Randgold Resources raced ahead after JP Morgan praised the ability of the mining companies to shield their cash-flows from the impact of weak gold and silver prices. BG Group's shares rallied after the British government unveiled plans to offer tax breaks for producers of shale gas.
Read moreLondon midday: Stock fall with corporate earnings in focus
22nd Jul 2013 11:56
The FTSE 100 has started the week on a dull note, trading with moderate losses on Monday morning as traders turned nervous a busy week for corporate earnings. Markets are in for a "bumpy ride" this week with nearly a third of S&P 500 companies set to report their quarterly earnings, according to Fi
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 pulls back from seven-week high
19th Jul 2013 11:25
Mining stocks were among the worst performers on Friday morning, providing a drag on the FTSE 100 as risk appetite declined following the index's seven-week high reached the day before. London's benchmark index closed at 6,634 on Thursday; the last time the index finished higher was on May 30th whe
Read moreLondon open: Stocks fall after gloomy figures from Microsoft, Google
19th Jul 2013 08:13
The FTSE 100 pulled back from a seven-week high on Friday morning after disappointing results from some Wall Street heavyweights last night. London's benchmark index closed at 6,634 on Thursday; the last time the index finished higher was on May 30th when it closed at 6,657. Both the S&P 500 and
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally after Bernanke comments on QE
17th Jul 2013 16:58
Markets rallied on Wednesday afternoon following comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who said that quantitative easing (QE) is 'by no means on a pre-set course' and still depends on how the economic recovery plays out. "For markets, that's good news as the US economic recovery, thou
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