Broker snap: UBS downgrades Prudential after strong rise
18th Mar 2013 10:32
Insurance, pensions and fund-management group Prudential was trading in the red on Monday morning after UBS cut its rating for the shares from 'buy' to 'neutral' following the stock's recent outperformance. The share price has surged over the last few months, though the broker believes that this wa
Read moreLondon close: US labour data boosts stocks late on
14th Mar 2013 16:33
Global stock markets registered decent gains on Thursday as US labour-market figures continued to beat forecasts, pushing the S&P 500 in New York close to an all-time high. The S&P 500 was trading around 1,560 by the close of trade in London (12:30 in New York), just a few points from the record-hi
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks make gains ahead of EU summit
14th Mar 2013 11:34
Strong gains from Aggreko, Morrison, Ocado and Home Retail pushed UK stocks higher on Thursday morning offsetting weakness in the heavyweight mining sector, as traders awaited the start of the EU summit and economic data from the States later on. US banking giant Goldman Sachs yesterday hiked its n
Read moreLondon open: FTSE 100 rises early on as Morrison jumps
14th Mar 2013 08:36
Strong gains for Prudential, Morrison and Aggreko helped push London's benchmark index into positive territory on Thursday morning, as traders showed optimism following recent bullish forecasts. US banking giant Goldman Sachs hiked its near-term target prices for the FTSE 100, saying that the index
Read moreLondon close: US retail sales lift markets off lows
13th Mar 2013 17:01
Disappointing production data from the Eurozone dampened stocks on Wednesday morning in London, but a better-than-expected reading of US retail sales saw markets rally off their lows in afternoon trade. The monthly measure of American retail sales increased by 1.1% in February, an acceleration from
Read moreSector movers: Prudential boosts life insurance sector as profits surge
13th Mar 2013 15:13
An impressive rise in the share price of financial services firm Prudential meant that the life insurance sector was the best performer of the day on Wednesday. Prudential, which provides insurance, pensions and asset management, was trading 8.07% higher at 1,112p in afternoon trade after increasin
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Prudential gains on strong profit rise
13th Mar 2013 15:13
Prudential was the strongest riser after posting a 25 per cent increase in its annual operating profits, saying its performance was largely driven by its "sweet-spot" markets including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Food retailer Sainsbury was up on the back of comme
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE 100 pulls back from five-year highs
13th Mar 2013 11:33
Stocks pulled back from five-year highs on Wednesday morning as traders took profits after industrial production data from the Eurozone disappointed. So far this year, the FTSE 100 index has gained nearly 10% and was yesterday trading near levels not seen since late 2007. Weighing on markets this
Read moreBroker tips: Capita, G4S, Prudential
13th Mar 2013 10:59
UBS has cut its rating for Capita from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying that the outsourcing company's improved fundamentals are now priced in. The broker believes that Capita's full-year results on February 28th addressed the market's major issues but the broker has longer-term concerns about falling ma
Read moreBroker snap: Investec reviews Prudential forecasts after significant 2012 beat
13th Mar 2013 10:14
Investec has placed its 'hold' rating and 831p target price for financial services giant Prudential under review after the company's 2012 results significantly beat consensus forecasts. "We view Prudential's FY 2012 results as very good on all metrics. As a consequence, our recommendation and sum o
Read moreLondon open: Ex-div stocks weigh on FTSE 100 early on
13th Mar 2013 08:33
Traders chose to take profits on Wednesday morning, taking advantage of the strong gains seen in previous sessions, with the FTSE 100 pulling back sharply from five-year highs. So far this year, the index has gained nearly 10% and is trading near levels not seen since late 2007. According to Reute
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
13th Mar 2013 08:28
Afren: UBS raises target price from 160p to 200p and reiterates a buy recommendation. African Barrick Gold: Westhouse Securities reduces target price from 255p to 195p and keeps a sell recommendation. Antofagasta: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 1260p to 1150p, while staying with its hold r
Read morePrudential raises dividend after surge in pre-tax profit - UPDATE
13th Mar 2013 08:24
Prudential increased its full-year dividend by 15.9 per cent to 29.19p per share as it reported a sharp increase in total profit before tax supported by surging business in Asia over the full year 2012. Total profit before tax increased by 54% to £2.8bn, operating profit rose 25% to £2.5bn and shar
Read moreSunday share tips: Prudential, Diageo, TUI Travel
10th Mar 2013 22:05
Over the last five years Prudential benefitted greatly from its expansion in southeast Asia, as the region´s middle class emerged. Helping matters was the lack of a social safety net and free health services in these countries, which stoked demand for the company´s insurance products. Thus, in the l
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: BP, Virgin Atlantic, Prudential
10th Mar 2013 20:26
BP announced that at the 'core' level - excluding production from its TNK-BP joint venture - it only replaced 6 per cent of the reserves which it tapped last year. That is an unusually low figure for an oil major and reflects the slow pace of its recovery. Nevertheless, some analysts point out that
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