London 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 moreJefferies turns positive on building materials stocks
22nd May 2015 11:20
Shares of building materials peers Wolseley, Travis Perkins, Howden Joinery and Grafton Group were all on the rise on Friday after Jefferies took positive stance on the sector. With equity markets more buoyant, the broker admitted that its previous valuation metrology was "too cautious", as it upgra
Read moreHowden on track to meet annual targets, posts 9% rise in first quarter revenue
30th Apr 2015 11:41
Howden Joinery Group, the kitchen and joinery products supplier, said it was confident of meeting annual targets after trading in line with expectations so far this year. The London-listed group said revenue in the first quarter was up 9.4% year-on-year and had increased 7% on a same depot basis. T
Read moreHowden Joinery CFO sells £2.87m worth of shares
14th Apr 2015 15:44
The deputy chief officer and chief financial officer of Howden Joinery Group and his wife sold £2.87m worth in shares in the company. Mark Robson sold 137,453 shares for an individual price of 465.1p while his wife Rachel Robson sold 482,434 shares for 462.8p each, bringing home a total of £2.87m.
Read moreHowden Joinery hikes dividend and unveils buyback after excellent year
26th Feb 2015 08:18
After an excellent year in 2014, kitchens and joinery depot chain Howden Joinery has looked to share results of its strengthening cash flow via a larger dividend and £70m share buyback. Full year results from FTSE 250 group showed sales not only topped £1bn for the first time, as recently foreshadow
Read morePanmure highlights improving newsflow for construction stocks
17th Feb 2015 08:14
Panmure Gordon has maintained an 'overweight' position on UK construction stocks on the back of an improving outlook, as it highlighted SIG as its top pick in the sector. "Architects billings growth (ONS data), project awards data (Barbour Index) and construction employment vacancies point to a heal
Read moreLondon midday: ECB stimulus hope drives gains, Tesco jumps 10%
8th Jan 2015 11:52
UK stocks surged strongly on Thursday amid hopes for more central-bank stimulus in Europe, assisted by strong gains from supermarket heavyweight Tesco as investors welcomed its turnaround plan and resilient Christmas sales. London's FTSE 100 was trading 1.6% higher at 6,522 by midday. The announcem
Read moreHowden Joinery lifts profit expectations
8th Jan 2015 08:00
Retailer Howden Joinery fired out an unscheduled trading statement to reveal that it expected profits for the full year will beat market expectations. The kitchens and joinery seller said the good trading performance it had hitherto reported in 2014 had continued for the remainder of the year, with
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Mining stocks fall as gold and oil prices drop
5th Dec 2014 15:37
Energy and mining stocks were in decline on Friday after a drop in oil prices for January delivery from Saudi Arabia and a fall in gold futures. Enquest was once again among the fallers on Friday amid low oil prices. Acacia Mining, Kaz Minerals, Lonmin Vedanta Resources and Blackrock World Mining Tr
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to gain ahead of quiet session
2nd Dec 2014 07:40
London-listed stocks are expected to begin Tuesday's session on a positive note ahead of what is expected to be a fairly quiet day. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 19 points higher than Monday's close of 6,656.37. The session will see the release of the Markit/CIPS construction r
Read moreHowden Joinery sales reach a record £1bn before year-end
2nd Dec 2014 07:21
Kitchen products group Howden Joinery said sales have reached the £1bn mark with three trading weeks of the financial year still to go. This is the first time that the group has achieved this milestone, with revenues reaching £940.7m in 2013. "This is a very special day for Howdens," said chief exe
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: St. Modwen climbs as Electrocomponents slides
13th Nov 2014 15:50
St. Modwen Properties rose after announcing that its 50/50 joint-venture French partner Vinci has been granted planning permission to redevelop the 57-acre New Covent Garden Market site in south London. The major 10-year project will see the delivery of over 500,000 square feet of new state-of-the-a
Read moreThursday broker round-up.-Update
13th Nov 2014 10:21
AstraZeneca: JP Morgan raises target price from 3700p to 4100p, keeping its underweight rating. AVEVA Group: Barclays upgrades to overweight. Bellway: Credit Suisse raises target price from 1876p to 1905p and keeps a neutral rating. Bow Leven: Barclays shifts target price from 45p to 50p and retai
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
6th Nov 2014 10:01
Amec: UBS cuts target price from 1185p to 1150p, while its buy recommendation remains unchanged. Afren: Liberum Capital cuts target price from 121p to 95p and stays with its hold recommendation. Antofagasta: Canaccord cuts target price from 790p to 760p and reiterates a hold recommendation. Associ
Read moreLondon close: M&S helps stocks to brush off downbeat services data
5th Nov 2014 16:11
Markets shrugged off fresh economic woes and gold price falls on Wednesday, helped by positive news from retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). Continental European service sector data came in weak and UK service data also surprised on the downside, slowing to a 17-month low in October. Fears that the dec
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