London close: Gains pared after 'Merkozy' meeting
5th Dec 2011 16:23
Gains for the FTSE 100 were trimmed late on after earlier optimism surrounding the key Franco-German meeting faded, but the index still finished modestly higher, up 0.28%. Investors will likely be cautious ahead of a pivotal EU summit to take place on Friday. "WE NEED STRUCTURAL CHANGES" German Ch
Read moreSector movers: Banks rise on euro optimism
5th Dec 2011 16:05
Banks continued to rise with Lloyds leading the way, rising over 7% on hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis. RBS and Barclays were also making gains. As the continent gears up for the EU summit on Friday, which is to focus on proposals to move euro area countries further towards c
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks rise on euro hopes
5th Dec 2011 14:35
Banks continued to lift the index with Lloyds leading the way, rising over 8% on hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis. RBS and Barclays were also making gains. As the continent gears up for the EU summit on Friday, which is to focus on proposals to move euro area countries furthe
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lift Footsie on euro optimism
5th Dec 2011 12:00
Hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis lifted markets on Monday. Many believe that it is now make-or-break time for the single currency, echoing remarks made last week by Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn that the continent had just 10 days to save the euro. The de
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up on euro hopes, Michael Page tanks
5th Dec 2011 08:17
London's blue chip index has opened higher, building on last week's gains of 7.5%, as a pivotal week in the Eurozone crisis kicks off. KEY WEEK FOR EURO French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to meet in Paris today to discuss the centralised control of Eurozon
Read moreLondon close: Stocks up 7.5% on the week on euro hopes
2nd Dec 2011 16:39
London's Footsie pared gains in the afternoon but still finished the day nearly 1% higher as easing fears over the Eurozone crisis kept the blue chip index firmly in positive territory. Despite closing some 50 points below the best levels of the day, the Footsie has gained 7.49% over the last week,
Read moreSector movers: Banks jump, defensives sold
2nd Dec 2011 15:55
The banking sector, a category typically sensitive to the outlook for the global economy - and more recently, developments in the Eurozone - was the best performing sector today, after comments from European leaders over 'fiscal union' helped to ease fears over the sovereign debt crisis. German Cha
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks lead the way higher
2nd Dec 2011 13:26
Banking giants Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered were all making strong gains, in line with the broader European banking sector, as fears over the Eurozone crisis eased. RBS was also boosted by news that it is to sell its tenanted pub business of 918 pubs
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead risers ahead of US jobs data
2nd Dec 2011 11:52
The Footsie was trading close to its highest levels of the day at midday as markets await a key jobs report from the US, which some are expecting to beat consensus forecasts. ALL EYES ON THE JOBS REPORT The US Labor Department will release its monthly employment report at 13:30, in which analysts
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up; BoE, Lloyds, London house prices
2nd Dec 2011 06:43
Extraordinarily serious and threatening...perilous - these are not the sort of words a central banker normally uses, yet every time the Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, appears in public these days, he ramps up the language of crisis still further. Regrettably, he's only telling it
Read moreLondon close: Footsie falls back below 5,500
1st Dec 2011 16:35
Despite a strong rise before on the back of some better-than-expected manufacturing data from the US, London's benchmark index pulled back to finish close to its lowest levels of the day. Nevertheless, after yesterday's eye-watering rally which saw benchmark indices across the globe jump between 3-5
Read moreLondon close: Footsie at two-week high after central bank action
30th Nov 2011 16:32
Benchmark indices across Europe and the US were making gains of between 3-5% on Wednesday afternoon after a united move by central banks to ease conditions in the global financial system. The FTSE 100 in London finished over the 5,500 mark, a closing level it has not reached since 16 November. CENT
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks and miners soar on central bank moves
30th Nov 2011 15:08
Miners and banks have jumped on the actions taken by China and a host of central banks to improve liquidity conditions across the globe. News that the People's Bank of China had lowered the legal reserve requirement for Chinese banks by 50 basis points sent equities soaring back into positive terri
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rocket on Chinese move
30th Nov 2011 12:09
With China acting to ease fears of a 'hard landing', European stock markets - and US futures - swung back into positive territory after sharp falls early on. Banks and miners roared into the lead in London, despite being the worst performers early on. The Footsie stood at 5,390 just after the midday
Read moreLondon close: Footsie nudges higher, Ecofin meeting eyed
29th Nov 2011 16:37
The FTSE 100 nudged higher in afternoon trading after swinging between gains and losses all day, as some better-than-expected US economic data boosted equities stateside. Lifting sentiment late on was the Conference Board's consumer confidence index which rose from a revised 40.9 in October to 56 t
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