London close: FTSE 100 books new all-time highs to close above 7000
20th Mar 2015 16:52
Dovish central banks and fading worries about Greece exiting the Eurozone propelled the London market to record fresh all-time highs on Friday. At Friday's close, the FTSE 100 index stood strong at 7022.51, up 0.8% on the day, off a touch from its session high of 7024.21. "The FTSE 100's landmark m
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Miners higher, Debenhams weaker on downgrade
20th Mar 2015 13:45
Vedanta Resources topped the risers, despite cutting its capital expenditure budget for 2015 by $400m and halving its 2016 budget. Miners Lonmin and Kaz Minerals were making gains on the rising three-month copper futures, which were 1.5% higher. Ophir Energy was boosted as investment analysts at De
Read moreUK mining and energy stocks slump on rising USD and declining commodity prices
10th Mar 2015 11:45
Mining and energy stocks slumped on the FTSE 100 index in London on Tuesday as commodity prices continued to erode on the back of a strengthening US dollar and persistent concerns over the health of the Chinese economy. Midday in London, shares in mining stocks slumped with Kaz Minerals down 4.9%, B
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Afren lower on defaulted interest payment, Betfair surges on upgraded guidance
5th Mar 2015 14:10
African oil company Afren plunged as it defaulted on an interest payment while it negotiates a restructuring with lenders that could dilute the interests of shareholders. Aerospace and defence manufacturer Cobham was damaged by a big fall in pre-tax profit for 2014, despite higher revenue. The compa
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
3rd Mar 2015 16:59
St. James's Place: Morgan Stanley ups target to 1,097p from 963p while reiterating overweight stance. AO World: Cannacord Genuity lowers target to 170p from 220p and reiterates hold. British American Tobacco: Jefferies raises target to 4,440p from 4,140p and reiterates buy. Kaz Minerals: Exane BNP
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as PBOC rate cut underwhelms
2nd Mar 2015 15:37
Mining stocks declined on Monday as investors shrugged off some improving economic data from top metals user China and a rate cut by its central bank in an attempt to boost growth. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point for the second time in three month
Read moreKaz annual loss widens on low metal prices
26th Feb 2015 10:26
Kazakhstan copper miner Kaz Minerals cited lower metal prices and the sale of poorly performing assets as the reason for a wider annual net loss. In the year ended 31 December, the FTSE 250 group posted a net loss of $2.3bn (£1.48bn), up 13.3% from the corresponding period in 2013. The figure, larg
Read moreSector movers: Mining stocks in demand despite worsening outlook for China
9th Feb 2015 14:46
Mining stocks were resilient in the face of some gloomy trade figures from top metals consumer China on Monday, as hopes increased for further stimulus measures by Beijing to avert a sharp slowdown in economic growth. The Chinese trade surplus unexpectedly ballooned to a record $60bn in January from
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Miners and oil companies trading higher, Halma hit by downgrade
9th Feb 2015 13:51
Halma took its biggest one day fall since May 2010, as JP Morgan downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'underweight'. Man Group was among the fallers despite an increased price objective from analysts at Liberum Capital, from 145p to 213p. Polymetal International and Kaz Minerals were putting in d
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Kaz Minerals surges after hitting annual targets, energy stocks fall
29th Jan 2015 15:20
Kaz Minerals topped the risers after revealing it met its annual production target for 2014 with an output of 83,500 tonnes. Kaz's new gold and copper mine at Bozymchak, Kazakhstan, made its first shipment of concentrate at the end of 2014. Dairy Crest was also trading higher after signing a thre
Read moreKaz Minerals full-year output in line with guidance
29th Jan 2015 09:43
Copper miner Kaz Minerals said it has met its annual production target, having produced 83,500 tonnes in 2014. Output was in line with guidance of 80,000 to 85,000 tonnes with its new gold and copper mine at Bozymchak, Kazakhstan, making its first shipment of concentrate at the end of 2014. The FTS
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Tullow Oil, Greene King, KAZ Minerals
19th Jan 2015 14:18
Supermarket operator Tesco has scope to materially improve its UK operations, according to Morgan Stanley which upgraded the stock from 'equalweight' to 'overweight' and hiked its target price from 155p to 260p. Together with moves to optimise its portfolio, that should drive the shares to outperfor
Read moreCredit Suisse warns of FX risk and balance-sheet concerns at KAZ Minerals
19th Jan 2015 09:24
Credit Suisse has said investors of KAZ Minerals should keep an eye out for currency movements and balance-sheet concerns at the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer, as it reiterated its 'underperform' rating for the stock. The bank downgraded its rating on KAZ from 'neutral' on 13 January, saying th
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Enquest, Britain's economy, Bank of England
18th Jan 2015 19:00
EnQuest is cutting spending, jobs and pay in an effort to avoid breaking the terms of its bank loans, the Sunday Times reported. The biggest independent UK North Sea oil producer's shares have fallen 80% since last summer as the price of crude oil collapsed. Investors took fright because of the comp
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: JD Sports rising over sales boost, Afren on the rise
16th Jan 2015 14:20
JD Sports Fashion was rising after reporting a sales surge of 12% over the Christmas period in the five weeks to 3 January. The company said: "The board is now confident that the headline profit before tax and exceptional items for our continuing operations will exceed the top end of market expectat
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