London midday: Broker upgrades and data lift UK stocks as Greek hopes rise
23rd Jun 2015 12:05
Better-than-expected economic data and improving optimism surrounding Greece strengthened stock markets on Tuesday morning, with sentiment also lifted by a raft of broker upgrades. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.25% higher at 6,842.53 by midday with Sports Direct, Smith & Nephew, Johnson Matthey, Diageo
Read moreJohnson Matthey tops FTSE 100 after Citigroup upgrade
23rd Jun 2015 11:00
Johnson Matthey rose 2.4% on Tuesday, topping the FTSE 100 leader board after Citigroup upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'neutral' and raised the price target to 3,600p from 3,200p. Citi pointed out that 50% of the company's earnings before interest and tax is based on emission catalysts for light d
Read moreBroker tips: Tullow Oil, Johnson Matthey, Kingfisher
4th Jun 2015 17:31
Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Tullow Oil at 'sell' with a 342p price target. The brokerage acknowledged that Tullow's share price has seen a considerable decline over the last 12 months, but anticipates that there is more near-term pain to come for shareholders. It said that an over-relia
Read moreLondon midday: Bond jitters weigh on stocks
4th Jun 2015 11:54
UK stocks edged lower following recent volatility in sovereign debt markets and amid mixed reports on the progress made at a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker. As of 12:21 the FTSE 100 was lower by 95.23 points to 6,855.2
Read moreLondon open: European bond yields keep rising, stocks down
4th Jun 2015 08:48
Stocks began the morning moving lower amid mixed reports regarding the progress made at a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker. As of 08:55 the FTSE 100 was lower by 87.36 points to 6,863.10. A large drop in Chinese stocks
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to slide lower amid concerns over bonds, market volatility, Greece
4th Jun 2015 07:21
Blue chips are headed for a drop early on in Thursday's session, reversing the gains seen on Wednesday as concern about the bond market and predictions from the European Central Bank (ECB) that market volatility will persist weigh on investor sentiment. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open ar
Read moreJohnson Matthey drops 4% after results; rise in working capital a concern
4th Jun 2015 07:05
Platinum and palladium refiner Johnson Matthey fell 4.2% on Thursday, with analysts pointing to a sharp increase in debt due to higher working capital, as the company posted a better-than-expected 22% rise in fiscal 2015 pre-tax profit to £495.8m. The figures were boosted by a gain of £69.7m from th
Read moreWednesday broker round-up
18th Mar 2015 12:41
Johnson Matthey: Deutsche Bank reiterates buy and 3,850p target. BAE Systems: Morgan Stanley lifts target to 570p from 515p and reiterates equalweight. BT Group: Nomura and UBS reiterate buy. Ashtead Group: UBS raises target to 1,130p from 1,070p and reiterates neutral. Rotork: Morgan Stanley imp
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Burberry higher on new director, Johnson Matthey hit by downgrade
11th Mar 2015 13:41
Shares in Burberry advanced after the British fashion house appointed Fabiola Arredondo as a non-executive director. Arredondo, once named by The Wall Street Journal as the most influential businesswoman in Europe, has previously held senior roles at Yahoo, the BBC and Bertelsmann. Temporary power a
Read moreLondon midday: Rebound falters as stocks pare gains after weak economic data
11th Mar 2015 11:57
London's stocks rose on Wednesday after plunging to a seven-week low, though any hopes for a full reversal of the prior day's sell-off were shattered by gloomy data from China and weak production figures from the UK. London's FTSE 100 was up just 0.08% at 6,708.24 by midday, having quickly erased ga
Read moreBroker tips: Tullow Oil, Smith & Nephew, Johnson Matthey, Cairn Energy
11th Mar 2015 11:33
Westhouse Securities has maintained a 'buy' recommendation on Tullow after the oil producer and explorer delivered a positive update on its appraisal programme in Kenya. "Tullow is now trading at an unprecedented 36% discount to our core net asset value [forecast] despite having high margin producti
Read moreGrowth is "exhausted" at Johnson Matthey, says Exane BNP Paribas
11th Mar 2015 10:01
Exane BNP Paribas sees lower medium-term structural growth and growing risks at Johnson Matthey, as it lowered its stance on the chemicals outfit from 'outperform' to 'neutral'. The broker, which cut its target price by 7% to 3,300p, said that growth was "exhausted" at the company, which specialises
Read moreLondon pre-open: Flat start expected after PBoC rate cut, investors await data
2nd Mar 2015 07:39
UK stocks were expected to open broadly flat on Monday ahead of a raft of economic data, with investors continuing to act cautiously with markets near all-time highs. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open a few points lower than Friday's close of 6,946.66. The index set a new intraday record
Read moreJohnson Matthey completes $75m acquisition of Clarinet
2nd Mar 2015 07:14
Sustainable technology company Johnson Matthey has completed its acquisition of battery materials business Clarinet, as of 28 February. The transaction was first announced on 29 October 2014 and totalled $75m. Chief executive Robert MacLeod commented: "The further strengthening of our battery techn
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Experian boosted by new growth strategy, Anglo disappoints with 2015 guidance
28th Jan 2015 13:35
Credit-checking firm Experian was a high riser after unveiling an unexpected $600m share buyback and outlining plans to "deliver annual average growth in organic revenue in the mid-single digit range". The company also said it has the potential for "strong growth" in earnings per share. Copper miner
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