London midday: Markets shrug off strong data as HSBC disappoints
5th Aug 2013 11:45
Economic data came in strong on Monday morning but a poor reaction to results from banking giant HSBC was weighing on markets in London with the FTSE 100 erasing its earlier gains by midday. HSBC, the Footsie's largest company by market capitalisation (around £135bn by today's prices), disappointed
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise after China services data
5th Aug 2013 08:27
Markets opened with solid gains on Monday morning on the back of decent data from China, as sentiment recovered after a disappointing US jobs report last week. With US non-farm payrolls coming in below expectations on Friday, it has now sparked hopes that the Federal Reserve could delay tapering st
Read moreLondon pre-open: Gains expected early on
5th Aug 2013 07:38
Markets are expected to open with small gains on Monday morning as stocks attempt to rebound after a US data-inspired sell-off on Friday afternoon. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up around five points from yesterday's close of 6,648. Non-farm payrolls figures from the States disappoi
Read moreGlencore to sell grain unit to Cargill
5th Aug 2013 07:13
Mining and marketing giant Glencore Xstrata is to sell its grain-handling unit Joe White Maltings to US firm Cargill. Cargill, which produces and markets food, agricultural, financial and industrial products, is to get its hands on the largest manufacturer of grain in Australia, which produces over
Read moreLondon close: Markets surge on upbeat data, policy decisions
1st Aug 2013 16:43
Markets rose strongly on Thursday as investors reacted to dovish comments from central banks across the globe, upbeat economic data and well-received results from UK banking group Lloyds. The FTSE 100 finished 61 points higher at 6,682 today, rising to levels not seen since the end of May. "The th
Read moreLondon 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 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 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 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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