Ocado sales up 15% in December
14th Jan 2015 09:11
Online grocery specialist Ocado Group said gross sales were up 14.8% in December versus last year, the company said on Wednesday. However, analysts expected growth to be nearer 16.5%. The FTSE 250 group said the seven days before Christmas saw a 40% increase in items sold for Ocado.com and Morrison
Read moreLondon close: UK stocks at best levels this year as Tesco jumps 15%
8th Jan 2015 16:42
London's FTSE 100 surged by 2.3% on Thursday to close at its best level this year as a massive gain in the share price of heavyweight supermarket group Tesco gave fellow retailers a lift. Increased hopes for central-bank stimulus in Europe, a stabilisation of oil prices and improving economic data f
Read moreSector movers: Supermarket stocks surge as Tesco pleases with revival plans
8th Jan 2015 15:28
The food and drug retail sector was trading nearly 10% higher on Thursday as investors gave a warm welcome to revival plans at industry giant Tesco, which reported a less-than-expected fall in sales over the crucial Christmas period. Tesco's shares were up nearly 13% at 205.3p in afternoon trade aft
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end choppy session firmly lower as data disappoints
6th Jan 2015 17:19
It was a volatile day for the UK equity market with stocks swinging between losses and gains for most of the session, with a late sell-off sending the FTSE 100 firmly in the red by the close. Service-sector activity data from across the globe largely came in below expectations with weak figures from
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Centamin leads gains, Ocado drops to the bottom of the pile
6th Jan 2015 14:02
Shares in precious metals companies led gains as gold futures were in the green, as investors sought out safe-havens. Centamin was doing best as gold futures for February delivery rose 1.37% to $1,220.50. Stock in platinum miner Lonmin was also outperforming. Meanwhile, energy stocks were still fail
Read moreWaitrose reports Christmas sales boost, as analysts eye Ocado fallout
6th Jan 2015 12:41
The first of the major supermarkets to update on Christmas trading, upmarket grocer Waitrose, part of the John Lewis group of companies, lifted like-for-like sales by 2.8%. Waitrose generated total sales, not including petrol, of £728m in the five weeks ending 3 January, up 7% on the same period a y
Read moreSector movers: Grocers fall as Tesco faces fresh inquiry
22nd Dec 2014 15:44
Tesco dampened the food and drug retail sector on Monday as news of a fresh investigation into the struggling supermarket chain weighed on investor confidence. Accounting watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said that it has launched an inquiry into the "preparation, approval and audit"
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Oil, gold and metal mining firms on the decline while retail sees an upswing
11th Dec 2014 14:17
Telecom firm Spirent Communications was rising on Thursday after being given a hold consensus recommendation by the 12 ratings firms currently covering the company. Liberum Capital upgraded the group to a 'buy' rating. The broker claimed: "Spirent is cheaper than its peers on all EV metrics and is a
Read moreOcado reports jump in end-of-year sales
11th Dec 2014 07:59
Ocado Group has cheered its investors with news of a jump in gross sales during the 16 weeks to 30 November. The online grocer reported an 18.6% climb in gross sales to £331.9m, which helped lift sales for the year to the end of November by 20.4% to £1,026.5m. The average number of orders per week
Read moreSector movers: Grocery stocks tank after yet another profit warning from Tesco
9th Dec 2014 15:20
Another profit warning from Tesco shattered already-fragile sentiment in the supermarket sector on Tuesday with grocery stocks falling sharply. Tesco's shares were down 7.4% at 173.4p in afternoon trade, having dropped as much as 16% early on, after the retail giant surprised the market with an unsc
Read moreSectors: Tech sentiment improves
29th Oct 2014 14:23
Improving sentiment towards technology companies saw the electronic and electrical equipment sector top the leaderboards in London on Wednesday. Although earnings reports from tech giants stateside have been mixed, with Apple and Facebook pleasing but Amazon and Twitter disappointing, interest in sm
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Ocado, SABMiller
16th Sep 2014 07:44
The vision behind Ocado is quite alluring, to create a dominant online grocery delivery service. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be working. Instead of supermarkets becoming dependent on it, which would allow the company to raise prices, its wafer thin margins are already under pressure due to th
Read moreLondon close: FTSE ended marginally lower as Scotland, Fed, Ukraine, China weigh
15th Sep 2014 17:05
The top tier index ended Monday's session marginally lower as strong gains by SABMiller helped to partially offset concerns about geopolitical tensions, the Scottish referendum, the latest Fed meeting and weak data from China. Ultimately, the FTSE closed 2.75 pionts lower at 6,804.21. "Trading in E
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Micro Focus jumps on M&A news
15th Sep 2014 15:46
UK software group Micro Focus International is to merge with The Attachmate Group in a $2.4bn deal which "presents a rare opportunity to achieve a significant increase in the scale and breadth" of the business. The company also assured investors that its previously announced 60p-a-share (£84m) cash
Read moreSunday share tips: Home retail, Panmure Gordon, Ocado
14th Sep 2014 13:16
UK consumer confidence remains fragile, making Home Retail Group's shares no better than a hold, Questor said in the Sunday Telegraph. The owner of Argos and Homebase's shares fell last week by saying DIY sales had fallen faster than expected. Argos sales are doing much better, helped by demand for
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