London close: Lower finish for FTSE 100
7th Dec 2009 16:59
Footsie staged a recovery after a poor start early on and edged into positive territory in the afternoon but closed slightly lower. Rumours of a windfall tax in Wednesday's pre-Budget report rattled the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, Barclays and HSBC fell on suggestions that the Ch
Read moreLondon afternoon: Banks slide on tax fears
7th Dec 2009 14:39
Leading shares recouped some of their losses over the lunchtime trading session but the Footsie remains in negative territory, largely due to the weakness of banks and miners. Rumours of a windfall tax in Wednesday's pre-Budget report has rattled the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking, B
Read moreLondon pre-open: Stocks to start lower
7th Dec 2009 07:34
UK shares look set to give up a little ground first thing Monday in reaction to a dip in form on Wall Street after London closed on Friday. The Dow Jones had traded a three-figure gain for much of its morning session following a sparkling set of jobs numbers, but saw its lead trimmed later as the d
Read moreBHP and Rio tie up Pilbara deal
7th Dec 2009 07:09
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have signed a binding joint venture agreement covering the entirety of both companies' Western Australian iron ore assets at Pilbara. The deal, which was flagged in June, still has to be approved by the European Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commi
Read moreLondon close: Rate rise fears fuel late slide
4th Dec 2009 17:17
Euphoria over the better than expected US jobless figures proved short-lived as week-end profit taking took hold and miners headed underground. Metal prices weakened in the afternoon session, taking mining stocks with them, as some pundits suggested that with the better than expected jobless figure
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks bounce into the blue after US jobs
4th Dec 2009 14:20
Share prices have surged higher as the keenly watched US monthly jobs figures showed a big drop in the number losing their jobs and an unexpected drop in the level of US unemployment. Miners are leading the rally with Rio Tinto the best performer. Other gainers include ENRC and oil explorer Cairn E
Read moreSector movers: US jobs data boosts miners
4th Dec 2009 13:37
Mining stocks have stormed ahead after some surprisingly upbeat jobs data from the US. Just 11,000 Americans lost their jobs last month, the smallest decline since the start of the recession Traders were amazed at the figure, having thought non-farm payrolls would fall by 100,000 or more in Novemb
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds Banking, Miners, Kingfisher
4th Dec 2009 12:47
Societe Generale (SocGen) reckons the faster than expected stabilisation of the net interest margin at part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking has been overlooked, and sees further scope for margin improvement as the company reduces its reliance on government funding. 'Looking ahead, while Lloyds c
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks treading water
4th Dec 2009 12:17
Share prices are stabilising at lower levels as investors wait on the big US jobless announcement due at 1:30pm. Banks are on the back foot after a lukewarm note on the sector from JP Morgan. The US bank is particularly down on part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland, which it advises its cli
Read moreBroker snap: Copper bulls too abundant, says Nomura
4th Dec 2009 11:00
Nomura Securities remains bullish on the prospects for mining shares in 2010 but for those short-term investors who like to buy on a dip, now is not a good time to dive in, the broker reckons. 'In 2010, we continue to expect mining equities to benefit from a weaker US$, accelerating Chinese investm
Read moreLondon close: Miners push Footsie higher
2nd Dec 2009 17:09
Despite being weighed down by a number of ex-dividend stocks, Footsie finished the day in positive territory, with gains on miners outweighing losses on banks. With metals prices hardening, miners were in demand. Lonmin was the best performer after being raised to 'buy' by Investec, which also upgr
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies above 5,300
1st Dec 2009 16:14
Strength in the US, a record gold price and fight back by the banks had London at session highs by the close of play. Markets decided that fears about Dubai's debt have been overdone. State-owned Dubai World said it had held "constructive" talks with banks and flagged plans to restructure nearly ha
Read moreLondon afternoon: Triple digit gain for Footsie
1st Dec 2009 14:59
Leading shares kicked on again in the afternoon session after US markets opened firmer, with the number of Footsie constituents showing a loss on the day being countable on the fingers of one hand. Mining stocks are going well on hopes of a sustained recovery in Chinese manufacturing. Silver miner
Read moreSector movers: Miners on the march
1st Dec 2009 13:32
Buoyant manufacturing data from China is lifting miners. HSBC said the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for China climbed to a seasonally adjusted 55.7 in November from 55.4 in October. The index has only been at this high a level in its first month of existence, in April 2004. The Chinese governmen
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie consolidates gains
1st Dec 2009 12:00
London is participating in a global rally by stock markets, as doubts over the Dubai debt crisis ease. Buoyant manufacturing data from China is lifting miners. HSBC said the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for China climbed to a seasonally adjusted 55.7 in November from 55.4 in October. The index
Read more