London open: Banks, ex-div stocks weigh on FTSE 100
2nd May 2012 08:43
- HSBC Chinese PMI improves but still below 50 - Standard Chartered falls after first-quarter update - BSkB leads risers after 'fit and proper' defence Following a strong rise for UK stocks yesterday when European markets were closed for May Day, the FTSE 100 opened lower on Wednesday morning. Lon
Read moreLondon close: US manufacturing data fuels late surge
1st May 2012 16:38
- US data offsets disappointing figures from China, UK - Lloyds leads banks higher, Man Group tumbles - Chemring gains 20pc after contract win With markets cautious early on after some disappointing manufacturing data from China and the UK, an upwards surprise in manufacturing figures Stateside gav
Read moreSector movers: Lloyds leads banks higher
1st May 2012 16:00
Massive gains for Lloyds following the lender's first-quarter results meant that the banking sector was the best performing sector on Tuesday afternoon. Profits at Lloyds Banking Group were back in the black in the first three months of 2012, prompting a near-7% jump in the share price before the
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Lloyds leaps after first-quarter results
1st May 2012 14:32
Lloyds was the best performer of the day after reporting that its pre-tax profits in the first quarter came in at 288m pounds compared to a massive loss of 3.47bn pounds in the first three months of last year. Nevertheless, Lloyds said it had seen an increase in the volume of complaints being receiv
Read moreLondon midday: Lloyds makes gains as stocks shrug off PMI data
1st May 2012 11:35
- UK, China PMIs disappoint - Lloyds provides a lift, Man Group and BP drop after updates - European, Asian markets closed; US open With most European and Asian markets closed today for May Day, the Footsie was trading only slightly higher by Tuesday lunchtime as some worse-than-expected manufactur
Read moreLondon open: UK stocks rise on quiet day for global markets
1st May 2012 08:28
- Several bourses closed for May Day - Chinese manufacturing PMI below expectations - Lloyds impresses, BP doesn't With most markets in Asia and Europe closed for May Day on Tuesday, London's FTSE 100 opened with moderate gains as some well-received results from Lloyds and Imperial Tobacco provided
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, House prices, Colt
29th Apr 2012 11:43
Middle Eastern wealth funds including Qatar Holdings and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala fund have held talks with Lloyds bank bidder, NBNK, to bolster its £2bn approach for the 632 branches Lloyds is struggling to sell. The backing of either or both funds - which have major investments in household business n
Read moreLondon close: Footsie finishes week strongly, Man Group soars
27th Apr 2012 16:22
- Footsie finishes up five points on the week - Stocks rise despite US GDP data, Spanish downgrade - Man Group jumped 14% after upgrade Following a steep sell-off on Monday, a four-day rise for blue-chip stocks saw the FTSE 100 finish slightly above levels seen last week with financials leading the
Read moreWeek Ahead: Lloyds, RBS, BP, US unemployment
27th Apr 2012 11:54
Banking results season gets in to full swing with Lloyds and RBS giving first quarter updates. There are plenty of other blue-chip companies clamouring for the limelight but it will be hard to ignore the first quarter update from BP on Tuesday, while on the economic front, US jobless figures for Apr
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks pare gains after GDP data
25th Apr 2012 11:54
- Footsie gains despite GDP data - Draghi continues to see downside risks - ARM rises on Apple earnings, broker upgrades After a strong start, the FTSE 100 index pared gains in mid-morning trade following some gloomy economic data that showed that the UK fell back into a 'technical' recession in th
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise ahead of GDP data
25th Apr 2012 08:16
- Q1 GDP expected to be flat - ARM up on upgrades, Apple earnings - Ex-div stocks lead the downside Stocks rose moderately in early trade on Wednesday as the Footsie still attempts to recover from Monday's steep sell-off. The release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the UK
Read moreWednesday newspaper round-up: UK Deficit, RBS, Tesco
25th Apr 2012 06:54
Angela Merkel launched a staunch defence of Europe's fiscal pact as politicians from the Netherlands, Spain and Greece scrambled to keep their own austerity measures on track. In a rare concession, the German Chancellor admitted that austerity alone would not solve the crisis but she insisted that t
Read moreLondon close: Economic data and political uncertainty sink stocks
23rd Apr 2012 17:03
- PMI data disappoints - Markets dragged down by European politics - Miners, Prudential, IAG lead fallers on Footsie Global stock markets were under heavy selling pressure on Monday as some gloomy economic data and political uncertainty in Europe weighed on sentiment. London's FTSE 100 index droppe
Read moreFriday broker round-up
20th Apr 2012 08:25
ARM Holdings: Jefferies raises target from 466p to 485p, underperform rating kept. Debenhams: UBS raises target from 75p to 80p, neutral recommendation kept; Nomura ups target from 81p to 90p, neutral rating kept. IMI: Investec maintains buy rating, 1,180p target under review. Intermediate Capita
Read moreLondon close: Financials weigh on Footsie
18th Apr 2012 16:34
- Financials, ex-div stocks weigh down Footsie - BoE's Miles alone on more QE - Italy may delay achieving balanced budget by a year The Footsie finished firmly lower on Wednesday afternoon despite some positive domestic jobless figures, as concerns over the Eurozone continued to dampen sentiment. S
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