London midday: Stocks trim gains, BoE holds rates
5th Sep 2013 11:27
After a strong start for UK stocks, the FTSE 100 pared gains by lunchtime as nervousness set in ahead of a number of risk events that have the potential to spark some volatile moves on financial markets. Risk appetite was also scaled back ahead of the G20 meeting which begins in St Petersburg today
Read moreLondon open: Stocks surge ahead of BoE, ECB meetings
5th Sep 2013 08:13
The FTSE 100 jumped strongly in early trading on Thursday as investor risk appetite increased ahead of policy decisions from the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) later on. The Bank of Japan meeting overnight was "a bit of a non-event", according to Market Analyst Craig Erla
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
3rd Sep 2013 11:13
ASOS: Exane increases target price from 5000p to 6000p and keeps an outperform rating. Associated British Foods: Exane upgrades to outperform with a target price of 2400p. Balfour Beatty: Berenberg ups target price from 270p to 300p and retains its buy recommendation. Barclays: Berenberg takes ta
Read moreBroker snap: Barclays downgrades StanChart on heightened EM risk
3rd Sep 2013 09:52
Barclays has downgraded banking group Standard Chartered from 'overweight' to 'equalweight', citing its exposure to the emerging markets and growing risks in some geographies. "Although we leave our Standard Chartered earnings estimates unchanged and continue to believe that the shares offer value
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: Syria, Nationwide, HSBC
28th Aug 2013 07:09
Britain cannot stand idly by in the face of the morally indefensible use of chemical weapons, David Cameron said yesterday, as he laid out the case for a missile strike against Syria. The White House is preparing intelligence material, including intercepted communications, which it says will prove t
Read moreLondon close: Economists nudge GDP forecasts higher
23rd Aug 2013 16:26
Equities moved moderately higher on the second to last Friday of the summer despite economic figures out in the afternoon which revealed a far larger than expected fall in new US home sales. Somewhat ironically, at least for now that won equity markets a small reprieve from the recent incessant cl
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise after UK GDP revision
23rd Aug 2013 12:00
Upwards revisions to UK economic growth in the second quarter gave stocks a bit of a boost on Friday morning, though gains were limited as investors scaled back risk appetite ahead of a long three-day weekend. UK gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter is now said to have been 0.7
Read moreBanks incur hefty fine after mis-selling insurance in CPP debacle
22nd Aug 2013 10:17
Some of the UK's biggest banks are to pay compensation to some seven million customers after mis-selling credit card and ID theft insurance cover. Customers will receive up to £300 each, with the total bill coming to £1.3bn. The insurance was mis-sold because in most cases it was already provide
Read moreLondon close: Taper concerns hit stocks ahead of Fed minutes
21st Aug 2013 16:50
London's benchmark index dropped one per cent on Wednesday as investors trimmed positions and took cover ahead of the risk event of the week, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting due out later this evening. The FTSE 100 ended 62.62 points lower on the day at 6,390.84, a f
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: IHG leads fallers after going ex-div
21st Aug 2013 13:43
Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner InterContinental Hotels Group was a heavy faller on Wednesday, dropping over six per cent after going ex-dividend, meaning that new investors won't be able to get their hands on the company's latest dividend payment. A number of other heavyweight stocks also went
Read moreLondon midday: Ex-div stocks drag FTSE 100 to six-week low
21st Aug 2013 11:33
Markets were sharply lower on Wednesday morning as risk appetite was scaled back ahead of this evening's release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting. The FTSE 100 was trading as low as 6,400 today in London today; the last time it closed below this level was on July 5th when
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 slips as investors await Fed minutes
21st Aug 2013 08:29
The FTSE 100 fell into the red on Wednesday morning, hitting a fresh six-week low as investors nervously awaited the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. The index dropped 0.5% to around the 6,420 mark early on. The last time the London benchmark closed lower was on July 5th when it finis
Read moreLondon midday: Markets fall on low volumes, Japan data
12th Aug 2013 11:52
In spite of a decent start, the FTSE 100 had swung into the red by Monday lunchtime, with analysts citing low volumes and weaker-than-expected economic data from Japan. Asian markets were mixed overnight with Chinese benchmarks performing well on an improved outlook in China, while Tokyo's Nikkei w
Read moreLondon close: Stocks jump as optimism over China grows
9th Aug 2013 16:34
Markets rallied strongly on Friday as economic data from the world's top metals consumer, China, sparked some impressive gains in the heavyweight mining sector. A day after trade figures came in ahead of expectations, the outlook for China brightened further with strong industrial production figure
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
9th Aug 2013 07:29
Aquarius Platinum: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 63p to 60p keeping a buy recommendation. Ashmore Group: HSBC ups target price from 400p to 435p, while keeping overweight rating. ASOS: UBS raises target price from 4600p to 6000p staying with its buy recommendation. Aviva: Bank of America
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