London midday: Back to square one
23rd Mar 2011 12:24
Footsie ended the morning more or less where it started it, as investors sit tight ahead of the Budget speech at 12:30pm. Resource stocks are in demand, with ENRC sitting atop a buoyant mining sector and Cairn leading oils higher. Underlying profits more than doubled last year at Kazakhstan-based
Read moreWeek Ahead: Budget, BoE minutes, Next
18th Mar 2011 12:03
Thursday is normally the biggest day of the week for the London stock market but next week Wednesday takes the honours, as that's the day the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) are released, and it is also the day the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbor
Read moreLondon close: Heavy losses despite recovery
15th Mar 2011 16:42
The FTSE 100 closed deep in the red Tuesday amid continuing worries over the situation in Japan, though losses were more than halved following a slide in the morning as nerves calmed. A third explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has raised concerns of a major radiation le
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks stabilise
15th Mar 2011 14:27
Leading shares remain deep in the red and the best that can be said is that the situation did not get materially worse over the lunch time session. A third explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has raised concerns of a major radiation leak and sparked panic selling on the
Read moreLondon midday: Slide continues in quake aftermath
15th Mar 2011 12:09
The blue chip index continues to be hurt by the crisis in Japan as sentiment remains battered by fears of a nuclear disaster. While off its lows for the day so far, the FTSE 100 still remains over 2% under at around 5,640, a level not seen this year. A third explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nucle
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Aggreko, Bovis, Consort Medical...
15th Mar 2011 06:55
Aggreko, the temporary power provider, saw its shares climb 5.5% amid expectations that it will be called in to help supply electricity to Japan's embattled population following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The company said it stood ready to equip the country with self-contained gas and
Read moreBroker tips: Astra, ITV, Next
2nd Mar 2011 13:14
UBS has downgraded pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as broker believes the scope for outperformance over a 12-month time frame has been reduced. UBS has shifted from a "buy" rating to "neutral", now that the market has taken account of higher expected returns from Crestor, Astra's cholesterol treat
Read moreBroker snap: Tough year, but growth expected at Next
2nd Mar 2011 10:57
Nomura expects a tough year at fashion and homeware retailer Next, but says that share buybacks plus home space and directory growth keeps the outlook upbeat. The Japanese broker expects a 3% decline in like-for-like (LfL) sales when Next reports its full year results on the 24th of March, and pred
Read moreLondon close: Shares applaud Mubarak exit
11th Feb 2011 16:51
Shares rallied sharply in the afternoon following strong confidence figures from the US, but it was the announcement that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is stepping down that really stirred up excitement. One stock in particular reacted strongly to the announcement. Shares in gold miner Centamin
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retailers on the slide
11th Feb 2011 14:13
Retailers are among the main fallers after some weekly sales figures from unquoted retailer John Lewis. Next, Marks & Spencer, Kingfisher and Burberry are all lower after underwhelming sales figures from the John Lewis. There was a 1% rise in sales in the week to February 5 from the same period l
Read moreLondon afternoon: L&G leads modest advance
11th Feb 2011 14:11
Leading shares are mixed but with a slightly firmer bias after rising over the lunchtime session. Insurer Legal & General (L&G) leads the advance on the back of a positive broker note from Nomura Securities. "We highlight our preference for L&G over Prudential (Reduce), given that we expect Pru to
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 back above 6,000
11th Feb 2011 12:18
The FTSE 100 is back above 6,000 after a weaker spell earlier but remains in the red. Retailers are among the heaviest fallers after some underwhelming sales figures from the John Lewis. As the department store itself put it, the 1% rise in sales in the week to February 5 from the same period las
Read moreLondon close: Footsie fades late
27th Jan 2011 16:32
Footsie closed lower after an afternoon rally, following a downgrade of Japan's credit weighting by ratings agency Standard & Poors, fizzled out. Life insurers moved to the top of the pile led by Old Mutual, Prudential and Aviva. Mining stocks did well after the US Federal Reserve indicated yesterd
Read moreSector movers: Miners on the march after updates
27th Jan 2011 14:25
Mining is one of the best performers on a busy day for the sector. A notable riser is FTSE 250-listed Petropavlovsk, up more than 6% after the Russian gold miner forecast production would rise 18% in 2011 even on a very conservative estimate. Precious metal miners in the FTSE 100 are also going wel
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks edge higher
27th Jan 2011 14:23
Footsie remains marginally in positive territory after trading sideways over the lunchtime session, with the downgrade of Japan's credit weighting by ratings agency Standard & Poors continuing to weigh on sentiment. Mining stocks are going well, however, after the US Federal Reserve indicated yeste
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