London midday: ECB, political uncertainty in focus as stocks fall
2nd Oct 2013 11:27
The FTSE 100 suffered steep losses on Wednesday morning as buyers showed caution ahead of a policy decision in Europe, whilst political uncertainty in the US and Italy continues to erode risk appetite. The all-important European Central Bank (ECB) policy decision is due at 12:45 this afternoon, tho
Read moreLondon close: Fed uncertainty, US debt ceiling weigh on stocks
23rd Sep 2013 16:27
Concerns about the US economy weighed heavily on global stock markets on Monday as investors focused on comments from Federal Reserve officials and the ongoing debt-ceiling debate. The FTSE 100 finished down 39.06 points on the day at 6,557.37. "Those of the opinion that stock markets have oversho
Read moreSector movers: Centrica drag utilities lower after shelving gas storage plans
23rd Sep 2013 15:04
Centrica was weighing on the utilities sector on Monday after the British Gas owner announced plans to shelve two gas storage projects. The group said it has decided not to proceed with its new-build gas storage project at Baird in the UK Southern North Sea and to put its project at Caythorpe in Ea
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Croda jumps on upgrade from Credit Suisse
23rd Sep 2013 14:22
Chemicals firm Croda was in the top spot after Credit Suisse upgraded its recommendation from 'neutral' to 'outperform' and hiked its target price from 2,600p to 3,000p. Telecoms giant Vodafone also gained after UBS raised its target price for the shares from 230p to 245p after including Kabel Deut
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks lower on German elections, US debt ceiling
23rd Sep 2013 11:18
Elections in Germany, an uncertain outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy and a debate over the US debt ceiling weighed on markets on Monday morning, as traders shrugged off upbeat data from China and the Eurozone. The HSBC/Markit flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturin
Read moreLondon open: Stocks slip despite Merkel victory in German elections
23rd Sep 2013 08:04
Stocks slipped into the red on Monday morning as investors digested this weekend's elections in Germany along with the uncertain outlook for monetary policy in the US. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU party won 41.5% of the vote in the federal elections this weekend after winning 311 seats
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Utilities rise on cautious investing
17th Sep 2013 14:50
Utilities stocks Severn Trent and United Utilities were on the rise as investors grew cautious as the US Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting during which the central bank will debate whether the economy has improved enough to start scaling back its monetary stimulus. Randgold Resources was
Read moreLondon open: Stocks pull back from four-week high
11th Sep 2013 08:19
FTSE 100 opened slightly lower on Wednesday morning as markets paused for breath to digest recent developments in Syria after the government agreed to hand over its chemical weapons. London's benchmark index finished Tuesday's session at 6,583.99, its highest closing price since August 14th when it
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Fresnillo, BT, National Grid
2nd Sep 2013 11:17
Citigroup has maintained its 'sell' rating for UK lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and has slashed its profit forecasts for the company citing weak earnings momentum. The broker said that RBS remains its least-preferred UK bank "based on the shareholder structure, ongoing political and regulator
Read moreBroker snap: Galvan sees solid uptrend at National Grid
2nd Sep 2013 11:15
Galvan Research has kept its positive stance on utilities group National Grid, saying it sees strong upside heading towards the end of 2013. "The July guidance from National Grid provided ample fundamental affirmation to underpin the positive message from the general share price uptrend," said Thom
Read moreLondon open: Stocks slip as Syrian turmoil hits risk appetite
28th Aug 2013 08:21
The FTSE 100 dropped firmly into the red on Wednesday morning as escalating tensions between Syria and the West spurred a reduction in risk appetite amongst investors. UN weapons inspectors are expected to return to a site in Damascus near where the suspected chemical weapons attack happened last w
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Wood Group, CRH, Miners
20th Aug 2013 15:03
Wood Group was in the bottom spot after it warned problems with its Canadian business would have an impact on earnings growth. The group said it was scaling back its full-year EBITA growth guidance for its engineering division from 15% to 10-15%, reflecting some project delays and further weakenin
Read moreLondon midday: Corporate earnings weigh on stocks ahead of Fed minutes
20th Aug 2013 11:41
A number of poorly-received results from blue-chip companies and ongoing concerns about the future of US stimulus weighed heavily on markets on Tuesday morning, dragging the FTSE 100 to levels not seen in over six weeks. London's benchmark index reached an intraday low of around 6,400 early on befo
Read moreLondon open: Stocks at six-week low as earnings disappoint
20th Aug 2013 08:21
Heavy falls from Wood Group, CRH and a host of miners were weighing on the FTSE 100 in early trading on Tuesday, pushing the index to levels not seen in over six weeks. London's benchmark index sunk by around 0.8% this morning, heading towards the 6,400 mark; the last time it closed lower was on Ju
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally on US data as eyes turn to Fed
31st Jul 2013 16:39
After a cautious start, the FTSE 100 rallied strongly in afternoon trade following some strong economic data from the US, though markets pulled back slightly from their intraday highs by the close as investors awaited a key policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. London's benchmark index fini
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