FTSE 100 movers: Morrisons sinks 6% as sales decline continues
7th May 2015 15:06
Morrisons was the standout mover of the day on Thursday as investors reacted to deteriorating sales trends at the grocer in its first quarter. Like-for-like sales dropped 2.9% in its first three months of the fiscal year, compared with a lesser 2.6% fall in the fourth quarter. Results were not as ba
Read moreBroker tips: Morrisons, GKN, Randgold
7th May 2015 11:24
Shares in Morrisons plunged on Thursday after the grocer reported a worsening of like-for-like sales trends in the first quarter, though analysts at Shore Capital remained upbeat with a 'buy' rating. The broker admitted that the company has a long way to go in its turnaround efforts, but the new chi
Read moreShoreCap sticks with 'buy' stance at Morrisons, but consensus at 'hold'
7th May 2015 09:29
Shares in Morrisons plunged on Thursday after the grocer reported a worsening of like-for-like sales trends in the first quarter, though analysts at Shore Capital remained upbeat with a 'buy' rating. The broker admitted that the company has a long way to go in its turnaround efforts, but the new chi
Read moreLondon open: Election uncertainty weighs on stocks, Morrisons sinks
7th May 2015 09:11
UK stocks dropped on Thursday as election uncertainty and a poorly-received update from blue chip supermarket chain Morrisons dampened sentiment. The FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 6,878.01 early on, with Morrisons leading the decline as sales trends worsened in its first quarter. Stocks in the resources
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks set to fall as UK election voting kicks off
7th May 2015 07:32
Stocks are set for a lower open on Thursday as UK voters head to the polls in one of the most unpredictable elections in decades. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 25 points lower than Wednesday's close of 6,933.74 with UK markets expected to track losses in the US and Asia overnight. Ana
Read moreMorrisons shares plunge as LFL sales decline worsens in first quarter
7th May 2015 07:03
Shares in Morrisons, the UK's fourth-largest supermarket chain, took a hammering on Thursday as the company reported a tough start to its new financial year with like-for-like (LFL) sales falling deeper into the red. LFL sales excluding fuel fell by 2.9% in the 13 weeks to 3 May, the grocer revealed
Read moreSainsbury's fares best as Big Four supermarkets all lose market share, says Kantar
6th May 2015 09:24
The Big Four group of UK supermarkets all lost market share in the last 12 weeks, with Sainsbury's performing best of this bunch and Asda the worst hit. According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, Tesco saw its market share shrink 0.4 percentage points to 28.4% in the 12 weeks to 26 April as its sales
Read moreUBS optimistic on UK supermarkets, 'buys' Tesco, Sainsbury and 'sells' Morrisons
30th Apr 2015 13:40
Rather than fighting on price, UBS declared in its 'initiation of coverage' on the European food retail sector after its Evidence Lab undertook a large consumer survey in the UK, "the future is about differentiation". Overall, the earnings outlook for the European food retailers is "better than it w
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Shire surges on earnings growth, RBS hit by weak revenues
30th Apr 2015 13:04
Shire surged after reporting that earnings rose 20% in the first quarter as sales at the Dublin-headquartered drug company overcame a sharp drop in its Intuniv attention deficit disorder drug and dollar headwinds. Royal Dutch Shell was trading higher after revealing a better-than-expected 56% drop i
Read moreSector movers: Supermarket stocks side-swiped as Tesco reports £6.4bn loss
22nd Apr 2015 14:36
The swift realisation that a £6.4bn annual loss was not something to be taken lightly saw Tesco's share price drop into the red by Wednesday afternoon, sending the UK food and drug retail sector to the bottom of the pile. The worst loss in the Tesco's 97-year history was initially warmly welcomed by
Read moreUK supermarket sector to face major grocery pricing probe by CMA
21st Apr 2015 10:05
An investigation has been launched into the supermarket sector by the UK competition regulator after a "super-complaint" from consumer organisation Which? due to the industry's "misleading and opaque pricing practices". The Competition and Markets Authority will begin a probe of the grocery sector's
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: UK supermarkets, Lloyds
21st Apr 2015 08:19
Do non-cash impairment charges matter? What if they run into the billions of pounds? After all, they all they can be dismissed as one-offs. Yet they do matter. Analysts at Deutsche Bank estimate Tesco could unveil a 15% - or 3bn pounds - writedown on the value of its propert assets. The value of pop
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, HSBC, Tesco, Moneysupermarket
19th Apr 2015 16:45
Lloyds Banking Group is facing a legal attack over its calamitous takeover of HBOS in 2008. A class action lawsuit, bringing together more than 6,000 investors that owned shares at the time, has been planned to force the company to release emails and other documents dating back to the deal, "to find
Read moreLondon close: Greek default fears grip markets as UK stocks pull back from record
16th Apr 2015 16:51
Stocks finished lower on Thursday with UK markets retreating from a record high, as bonds yields in Athens soared on the back of concerns over a potential Greek default. London's FTSE 100 was down 36.33 points (-0.51%) by the close at 7,060.45. The index pulled back from Wednesday's all-time closin
Read moreThursday broker round-up
16th Apr 2015 13:42
AstraZeneca: Societe Generale reiterates buy and 6,660p target price. Tesco: Nomura reiterates neutral and lowers target to 185p from 190p. Burberry: UBS reiterates neutral stance and lifts target to 1,800p from 1,650p. Royal Dutch Shell: Barclays reiterates overweight. Persimmon: Shore Capital r
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