London afternoon: Advance gains momentum
16th Jul 2009 15:08
Footsie looks set to make it four days of rises in a row, with a firmer start on Wall Street giving an additional boost in the afternoon session. Risers outnumber fallers by three to one but among the fallers is data search software firm Autonomy, despite registering its 25th consecutive quarter of
Read moreLondon midday: Market rises but Autonomy disappoints
16th Jul 2009 11:53
London's blue-chip index has limped back into positive territory, despite weakness from the heavily weighted mining sector. Data search software firm Autonomy has registered its 25th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. Citigroup thought the results were "solid" and took "most of the bear a
Read moreMorgan Sindall lands affordable housing contract
16th Jul 2009 09:20
Morgan Sindall announced its second contract win of the week, as its affordable housing specialist Lovell bagged a contract with the East Midlands Housing Group. The £24m contract is for the refurbishment of more than 2,200 homes in the Blaby district of south-west Leicestershire. Work will include
Read moreLondon close: Stocks pull out of tailspin
14th Jul 2009 17:09
Indecision on Wall Street prompted a spell of profit taking in the UK in the middle of the afternoon session which threatened to wipe out the morning's gains, but London's blue-chips rallied at the death to keep the Footsie in the blue. Mining stocks were the best performers with silver miner Fresn
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie climbs despite weak retailers
14th Jul 2009 14:10
London's leading shares continue to edge higher, with sentiment given a boost in the afternoon by expectations of a moderately firm start on Wall Street and a strong set of second quarter results from US bank Goldman Sachs, which announced record revenues. Mobile phone giant Vodafone, the third lar
Read moreLondon midday: Early gains are consolidated
14th Jul 2009 12:11
The Footsie is trading sideways, holding on to gains after a bright start. Inflation data was much as expected, with the inflation rate falling below the Bank of England's 2% target for the first time since September 2007 last month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed a drop in consu
Read moreLondon open: Early gains for Footsie
14th Jul 2009 08:41
London's blue chips have made early gains after the hundred-point plus surge on Wall St overnight. Miners are leading the way with Fresnillo, Lonmin, Xstrata and Rio Tinto all going well. Defensive stalwarts are the weak spots with Diageo, Imperial Tobacco and Reckitt Benckiser all lower. Enginee
Read moreLondon pre-open: Bright start expected
14th Jul 2009 07:40
Footsie is expected to rise after last night's good showing on Wall Street. Engineering conglomerate Melrose is trading in line with expectations for the full year and said cash generation during the first six months of 2009 has been 'excellent'. Net debt has reduced by £127m since 31 December 2008
Read moreMorgan Sindall in £71m wing factory deal
14th Jul 2009 07:13
Construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall has announced that its construction division Morgan Ashurst has won a £71m contract with plane maker Airbus to build a wing assembly factory. The factory is expected to be completed by October 2010. "This latest contract win is further evidence of
Read moreThursday tips round-up: AstraZeneca, Morgan Sindall, Afren
2nd Jul 2009 06:14
Yesterday's failed blockbuster drug can be tomorrow's niche therapy. That would appear to be the prognosis from AstraZeneca, which yesterday won European marketing approval for Iressa, its once-a-day lung cancer pill. Longer-term challenges remain: notably the tide of patent expiries, such as the 2
Read moreLondon close: Footsie adds 2%
1st Jul 2009 16:34
Miners were rampant Wednesday on stronger commodity prices, leaving the sector heavyweights dominating the blue chip index. There was healthy demand for gold on the metal markets, while copper also improved. The red metal headed higher following strong Chinese manufacturing data, while decreasing s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Resource stocks lead the way
1st Jul 2009 14:29
Resource stocks lead the market higher after the second half of the year got off to a good start following better than expected factory output data. The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 47 in June from 45.4 the month before and a gloomy 34.9 in February. Most of the top
Read moreLondon midday: Marks sparks rally
1st Jul 2009 12:06
A well received set of results from Marks & Sparks and the strength of miners drives London higher today. Marks and Spencer's like-for-like sales fell across its major divisions in the first quarter, though total group sales were up. In the 13-weeks to June, UK like for like sales fell 1.4%, Genera
Read moreOrder book steady at Morgan Sindall
1st Jul 2009 08:06
Morgan Sindall, the construction and regeneration company, said it is on course to meet management’s expectations for the full year, despite continued tough trading conditions in some of its markets. As anticipated, the group’s Fit Out has been the problem child of the Morgan Sindall family with re
Read moreMorgan Sindall lands another Uni contract
30th Jun 2009 13:02
Construction and regeneration specialist Morgan Sindall has bagged a £49m contract from the University of Reading. The contract involves the construction of two new halls of residence at the university, a new catering building and the refurbishment of the ground floor an existing hall of residence.
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