London close: Stocks plummet after ECB
8th Dec 2011 16:43
The Footsie took a tumble in the afternoon as initial optimism following the European Central Bank (ECB) decision to cut rates quickly faded after a press conference with its president Mario Draghi. In the last two-or-so hours of trade, London's blue chip index dropped more than 100 points from its
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: GKN falls on downgrade
8th Dec 2011 15:25
GKN continued to fall on news that Credit Suisse had downgraded the stock from outperform to neutral. Standard Chartered fell after saying its income for 2011 is now expected to grow at "just below a double digit rate" after a depreciation in Asian exchange rates against the dollar. Previously the
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks fall on negative news from Europe
7th Dec 2011 15:13
Miners continued to rise following a strong morning trade, with Randgold Resources leading the way after gaining over 3% and Eurasian Natural Resources not far behind. Although not on the top 10, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Vedanta were also performing well. However, banks were n
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie in the blue despite S&P warning
6th Dec 2011 12:01
UK equities pushed into positive territory (albeit only slightly) by midday but trade was choppy in the morning session, as a Standard & Poor's warning over Eurozone ratings rattled markets' nerves. Nevertheless, US futures were pointing to a positive start on Wall Street, providing a lift here in
Read moreLondon open: Flat start after S&P warning
6th Dec 2011 08:23
UK stocks opened flat on Tuesday morning as yesterday's optimism surrounding the key Merkel-Sarkozy meeting and an upcoming EU summit was outweighed by some worrying comments from Standard & Poor's (S&P). S&P WARNS OF MASS EUROZONE DOWNGRADE Reports of a impending credit rating agency action on th
Read moreLondon close: Gains pared after 'Merkozy' meeting
5th Dec 2011 16:23
Gains for the FTSE 100 were trimmed late on after earlier optimism surrounding the key Franco-German meeting faded, but the index still finished modestly higher, up 0.28%. Investors will likely be cautious ahead of a pivotal EU summit to take place on Friday. "WE NEED STRUCTURAL CHANGES" German Ch
Read moreSector movers: Banks rise on euro optimism
5th Dec 2011 16:05
Banks continued to rise with Lloyds leading the way, rising over 7% on hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis. RBS and Barclays were also making gains. As the continent gears up for the EU summit on Friday, which is to focus on proposals to move euro area countries further towards c
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks rise on euro hopes
5th Dec 2011 14:35
Banks continued to lift the index with Lloyds leading the way, rising over 8% on hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis. RBS and Barclays were also making gains. As the continent gears up for the EU summit on Friday, which is to focus on proposals to move euro area countries furthe
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lift Footsie on euro optimism
5th Dec 2011 12:00
Hopes that leaders can bring an end to the euro crisis lifted markets on Monday. Many believe that it is now make-or-break time for the single currency, echoing remarks made last week by Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn that the continent had just 10 days to save the euro. The de
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up on euro hopes, Michael Page tanks
5th Dec 2011 08:17
London's blue chip index has opened higher, building on last week's gains of 7.5%, as a pivotal week in the Eurozone crisis kicks off. KEY WEEK FOR EURO French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to meet in Paris today to discuss the centralised control of Eurozon
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Russia, manufacturing Astra Zenaca
5th Dec 2011 07:07
Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party appears to have lost the trust of millions of Russians after early results showed it had won less than 50% of the vote in a parliamentary election on Sunday. Russia's central election commission last night said United Russia was leading the elections with
Read moreLondon close: Stocks up 7.5% on the week on euro hopes
2nd Dec 2011 16:39
London's Footsie pared gains in the afternoon but still finished the day nearly 1% higher as easing fears over the Eurozone crisis kept the blue chip index firmly in positive territory. Despite closing some 50 points below the best levels of the day, the Footsie has gained 7.49% over the last week,
Read moreSector movers: Banks jump, defensives sold
2nd Dec 2011 15:55
The banking sector, a category typically sensitive to the outlook for the global economy - and more recently, developments in the Eurozone - was the best performing sector today, after comments from European leaders over 'fiscal union' helped to ease fears over the sovereign debt crisis. German Cha
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Banks lead the way higher
2nd Dec 2011 13:26
Banking giants Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered were all making strong gains, in line with the broader European banking sector, as fears over the Eurozone crisis eased. RBS was also boosted by news that it is to sell its tenanted pub business of 918 pubs
Read moreLondon midday: Banks lead risers ahead of US jobs data
2nd Dec 2011 11:52
The Footsie was trading close to its highest levels of the day at midday as markets await a key jobs report from the US, which some are expecting to beat consensus forecasts. ALL EYES ON THE JOBS REPORT The US Labor Department will release its monthly employment report at 13:30, in which analysts
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