London 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 pre-open: Stocks expected to fall ahead of FOMC minutes
21st Aug 2013 07:26
Markets are expected to open lower on Wednesday morning as traders nervously await the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 12 points after hitting a six-week low of 6,453.46 yesterday. Market sentiment has been a little fragile ahead of
Read moreLloyds incurs loss on disposal of German life insurance unit
21st Aug 2013 07:08
Lloyds has announced that it is offloading its German life insurance business as it continues to downsize its international footprint, but will take a big loss in doing so. The UK bank said that the sale "is in line with the group's strategy of rationalising its international presence and ensuring
Read moreLondon midday: Markets searching for direction after sell-off
16th Aug 2013 12:01
The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Friday morning, swinging between gains and losses as equity markets searched for direction following a steep sell-off the day before in the UK and US. The London benchmark lost 1.6% on Thursday after better-than-expected jobless claims data in the States ignited con
Read moreLondon open: Markets rangebound after steep sell-off
16th Aug 2013 08:42
The FTSE 100 opened broadly flat on Friday morning with markets rangebound as sentiment still remained fragile following the steep sell-off the day before. The London benchmark lost 1.6% on Thursday after better-than-expected jobless claims data in the States ignited concerns that the Federal Reser
Read moreLondon close: Markets lower despite better-than-expected Eurozone GDP
14th Aug 2013 17:27
A return to growth in the Eurozone wasn't enough to buoy markets today with the FTSE 100 finishing down 24.51 points at 6,587.43 after a choppy session. Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed that the single-currency region exited a recession in the second quarter by expanding 0.3%, a
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: RBS leads banks higher after Fitch report
14th Aug 2013 14:54
Royal Bank of Scotland Group topped the risers on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday after ratings agency Fitch said that a break-up of the state-backed UK lender into a 'good' and 'bad' bank is increasing unlikely as the costs would outweigh the benefits. Part-nationalised counterpart Lloyds was also making
Read moreLondon close: Markets finish lower despite mining strength
12th Aug 2013 16:44
Markets were choppy on Monday with early gains on the FTSE 100 being erased by the end of trade as traders reacted to mixed newsflow from Asia and Europe. Even a strong performance in the heavyweight mining sector wasn't enough to push the London benchmark into positive territory today, with Financ
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 moreSunday papers: UK growth, Lloyds Banking, RBS, Ladbrokes
11th Aug 2013 21:08
Rising unemployment figures for the UK could support the Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates at a record low to support the recovery, the Sunday Times said. Official jobless data released on August 14th will be closely watched after BoE Governor Mark Carney linked rates to employment d
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 moreLondon midday: Markets rise on upbeat data from China, UK
9th Aug 2013 11:31
Strong data from China and increasing momentum in the UK economic recovery pushed the FTSE 100 into positive territory on Friday, though markets were rangebound as gains were limited ahead of the weekend. The FTSE 100 was trading just 0.2% higher by midday with just 25 points separating the index's
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Aviva, Tesco
9th Aug 2013 11:22
Morgan Stanley has raised its rating for UK banking group Lloyds from 'equalweight' to 'overweight', saying that the company can benefit from a strong housing market while visibility on its payout improves. "We upgrade Lloyds to OW as we are more bullish than most on the outlook for UK housing, whi
Read moreBroker snap: Morgan Stanley upgrades Lloyds on housing and payout potential
9th Aug 2013 09:31
Morgan Stanley has raised its rating for UK banking group Lloyds from 'equalweight' to 'overweight', saying that the company can benefit from a strong housing market while visibility on its payout improves. "We upgrade Lloyds to OW as we are more bullish than most on the outlook for UK housing, whi
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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