London midday: Stocks up as investors await news from Greece
8th Feb 2012 11:46
- Reckitt, miners and banks provide a lift on the FTSE 100. - Big movers on the FTSE 250 drag index into the red. - Markets await news from Greek meetings. Stocks pared gains by midday but were still trading in positive territory as investors awaited developments from Greece with leaders still grap
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise with Greece in focus
8th Feb 2012 08:42
- Greek leaders scheduled to discuss draft deal. - Reckitt rises strongly after beating full-year targets. - Miners, financials provide a lift. Stocks opened higher on Wednesday following two days in the red, with banks and resource stocks providing a lift. Worth noting, the FTSE All-World equity i
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE 100 to take lead from US
8th Feb 2012 07:35
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 13 points from yesterday's close of 5,890, taking its cue from the Dow Jones industrial average, which last night closed at its highest level since May 2008, as hopes rose that Greece is close to agreeing austerity measures. Mining giant BHP Billiton's
Read moreRio Tinto approves $3.4bn Pilbara expansion
8th Feb 2012 07:03
Mining giant Rio Tinto has committed a further $3.4bn to the expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in western Australia. Some $2.2bn will be invested to extend the life of the Nammuldi iron ore mine, which is expected to increase production capacity in Pilbara to 283m tonnes a year (Mt/a) by
Read moreLondon close: Losses pared ahead of Greek meeting
7th Feb 2012 16:35
-Greek talks enter critical stage. -Shareholders raise questions over terms of Glencore/Xstrata merger. -Defensives in demand as investors flee from risk. Losses were trimmed by the end of trade on Tuesday with reports pointing to progress being made in Greece. Government leaders and international
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as investors flee from risk
7th Feb 2012 16:01
With investors fleeing from risk on Tuesday as prolonged Greek talks took the spotlight, miners were widely sold off, with merger pals Xstrata and Glencore International being the worst performers on the FTSE 100 in late afternoon trade. Markets await this evening's meeting between the Greek Prime M
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Glenstrata deal hits shares in both firms
7th Feb 2012 15:48
Both Xstrata and Glencore both fell today as battle lines were drawn over the Glenstrata merger. The opening salvos have been fired in the battle for value over the proposed $90bn merger between the two commodity giants. On one side are the shareholders of Glencore and the managements of both compan
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
7th Feb 2012 10:14
Shire: Goldman Sachs reiterates 'conviction buy.' Misys: Berenberg Bank downgrades to hold from buy. BP: Nomura maintains neutral rating and 500p target. Cairn: UBS ups target from 291p to 370p, neutral rating kept; Credit Suisse ups target from 357p to 369p, neutral rating kept. Rio Tinto: Cred
Read moreLondon open: Miners tank in early trade
7th Feb 2012 08:35
A fall in the mining sector outweighed a strong showing by oil stocks as the Footsie slipped in early trading. Eyes will again be on Greece with as the meeting between Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country's three main political parties, originally scheduled for yesterday, is due to take p
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Admiral leads the way higher
3rd Feb 2012 13:17
Insurance group Admiral jumped into the top spot after extending its existing UK car insurance reinsurance partnerships with Hannover Re, Mapfre Re, New Re and Swiss Re until 2014. "Reinsurance has been at the core of Admiral's successful business model since 2000 and we look forward to continuing o
Read moreLondon midday: Admiral leads the rise ahead of US data
3rd Feb 2012 12:03
Stocks were up at the day's best levels by lunchtime following a subdued start, with insurance outfit Admiral leading the charge. Miners on the other hand, are providing a drag, pulling back from their strong showing yesterday on the back of heightened M&A speculation in the sector. Markets were gi
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat ahead of US data, Admiral jumps
3rd Feb 2012 08:31
London's blue chip stocks were broadly flat in early trading on Friday, with investors cautious ahead of some key non-farm payroll data due out in the US later today. In domestic news, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicts that the UK may fall back into recession t
Read moreLondon open: Stocks pull back but Xstrata soars
2nd Feb 2012 08:35
Stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday, pulling back from the +100 point gain for the Footsie yesterday as markets celebrated positive global macroeconomic data with manufacturing indices in the UK, Eurozone, US and China all showing an improvement in January. In other news, ratings agency Standa
Read moreLondon close: Financials surge as macro data lifts sentiment
1st Feb 2012 17:00
- Schroders leads financial stocks higher as risk appetite increases. - Manufacturing data from UK, Europe, US and China well-received. - Greece 'one formal step away' from deal. The Footsie finished with a triple-digit point gain on Wednesday after manufacturing data from across the globe lifted s
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rise after Eurozone manufacturing data
1st Feb 2012 11:56
Gains were extended by lunchtime after Eurozone manufacturing data suggested that the region may escape a recession. Financials were putting in a strong performance in London, led by ICAP which was rising over 7% at the midday mark. January's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the Eurozone manufa
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