Wednesday broker round-up
27th May 2015 07:57
Beazley: JP Morgan upgrades to overweight from neutral and sets 308p target, up from 255p. Hiscox: JP Morgan upgrades to overweight from neutral and ups target to 950p from 801p. Lancashire Holdings: JP Morgan improves target price to 642p from 589p, stays at neutral. Dixons Carphone: Exane keeps
Read moreLondon close: Stocks hit two-week high as blue chips rise
22nd May 2015 16:36
UK stocks reached a two-week high on Friday on the back of decent performances from heavyweights Vodafone and HSBC, along with gains in defensive categories such as pharmaceuticals. Markets across Europe were struggling to push higher on concerns about Greece, while Wall Street opened in the red on
Read moreStart-up British banks seeing better returns than larger rivals, says KPMG
22nd May 2015 13:35
New 'challenger' banks are outperforming the 'Big Five' high street banks, and the larger lenders need to examine better ways of standing out in the market, according to a report by KPMG. The reported said that new banks in the UK are securing stellar returns, as they pick up "the whitespace left be
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Vodafone surges on continued merger speculation, miners higher
22nd May 2015 12:51
UK stocks were buoyed on Friday by higher commodity prices and data revealing the US had remained in deflation last month. Sector-wise gains made by miners, engineers and telecoms stocks outweighed weakness in technology and travel stocks. At 14:00 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 37 points higher at 7
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks hold on to gains before US CPI, Vodafone continues to rise
22nd May 2015 11:23
UK stocks held on to gains on Friday ahead of some key economic data from the States, which is forecast to show that the US remained in deflation last month. Strong gains from Vodafone, HSBC and a host of stocks in the mining sector were supporting markets in London. The FTSE 100 was up 0.37% at 7,
Read moreLondon open: Vodafone, HSBC and miners lead UK stocks higher
22nd May 2015 08:41
UK stocks opened higher on Friday morning and were on track to hit a two-week high ahead of another busy day for economic data. The FTSE 100 was trading up 0.41% at 7,042.57 early on, helped by decent gains from blue chips Vodafone and HSBC and the heavyweight mining sector. The index has not close
Read moreLondon pre-open: Subdued start expected ahead of economic data
22nd May 2015 07:32
UK stock markets were set for a quiet start on Friday as investors awaited a busy day on the economic data calendar. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open flat on Thursday's close of 7,013.47, its highest close since 11 May. Macro indicators came in mixed the previous session, with manufactur
Read moreHSBC considering sale of Brazilian unit
22nd May 2015 07:15
HSBC has confirmed speculation that it is looking at a possible disposal of its Brazilian operations, though it has not yet made a decision. In a short statement on Friday morning, the global banking giant said: "HSBC confirms that it is exploring various strategic options for its operations in Braz
Read moreThursday broker round-up
21st May 2015 13:01
Barclays: JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates overweight and 285p target. StanChart: Goldman sachs reiterates neutral. St.James Place: Numis reiterates add and 1050p target. Hargreaves Lansdown: JP Morgan Cazenove reiterates neutral and raises target to 1,100p from 1,050p. UK Mail Group: RBC Capital re
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks dip as investors shrug off strong retail sales
21st May 2015 11:58
Stronger-than-expected retail sales data wasn't enough to boost London's stocks on Thursday with markets rangebound as the FTSE 100 continues to fluctuate around the 7,000 mark. UK retail sales jumped 1.2% in April, according to the Office for National Statistics, more than making up for the 0.7% de
Read moreHSBC hits hurdle over ring-fencing plan, says Sky News
20th May 2015 09:33
HSBC's plans to segregate its UK retail banking operations have hit a fresh obstacle after regulators indicated that a prospective candidate for the division's chairmanship would be inegible for the role, according to Sky News. Sky said that HSBC had held preliminary talks with the Prudential Regula
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BHP Billiton extends losses, Land Securities surges on higher dividend
19th May 2015 13:15
UK stocks edged higher on Tuesday, despite confirmation of the UK's first deflation since the 1960s. Sector-wise, losses made by miners and telecommunications were offset by strong results from real estate, construction and insurance stocks. As of 2:40GMT, the FTSE 100 was trading 28 points higher a
Read moreBernstein downgrades HSBC to market perform from outperform
19th May 2015 12:26
Bernstein downgraded HSBC to 'market perform' from 'outperform' and cut its target price to 650p from 660p. It noted that since the beginning of the year, HSBC has struggled with its top line performance, with muted credit demand and currency headwinds year-on-year, as well as an ever-increasing UK
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bank ringfencing, UK deflation, Ryanair, Aveva
17th May 2015 16:17
Government plans to "ring fence" bank's high street business from their more risky investment banks could be watered down in an attempt to keep the likes of HSBC in the UK, according to the Sunday Times. The Treasury and the Bank of England have begun talks with senior City bankers on potential refo
Read moreFriday broker round-up
15th May 2015 15:12
SAB Miller: Berenberg reiterates buy and 3,920 price target. IMI: Nomura reiterates reduce stance, lowers target to 1,115p from 1,175p. ITV: Barclays downgrades to equal-weight with 260p target. HSBC: Berenberg reiterates buy and lowers target to 750p from 790p. Hiscox: Canaccord Genuity reiterat
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