London close: Miners fire Footsie higher
2nd Nov 2009 16:23
Miners dominated London's top ten risers, offsetting weakness among financials, while promising US manufacturing data encouraged buyers over here. Randgold Resources was top of the pile as the price of gold topped $1,060 an ounce. It's also keen to bring the renamed Kibali mine into production as s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Market consolidates gains
2nd Nov 2009 15:11
Footsie has spent the afternoon session consolidating the morning's gains., with miners continuing to be the star performers while financials stumble. Sharply higher metal prices and news that Randgold Resources is keen to bring the renamed Kibali mine into production as soon as possible helped min
Read moreSector movers: Miners take the lead
2nd Nov 2009 13:44
Miners are the strongest performers thanks to sharply higher metal prices and news that Randgold Resources is keen to bring the renamed Kibali mine into production as soon as possible. Randgold and its joint venture partner AngloGold Ashanti agreed on Saturday to buy an additional 20% stake in the
Read moreLondon midday: Black morning for banks
2nd Nov 2009 12:10
Though it has not been a good morning to hold financial stocks, the FTSE 100 index still had a positive session, thanks largely to strong demand for mining stocks. Sharply higher metal prices and news that Randgold Resources is keen to bring the renamed Kibali mine into production as soon as possi
Read moreLondon close: Triple-digit losses for FTSE 100
28th Oct 2009 16:26
A poor performance from mining and financial stocks ensured that Footsie ended with triple-digit losses. Insurer Prudential, which saw a surge in US business but posted a fall in UK sales, was a heavy faller. The Pru lifted group-wide retail sales by 10% to £699m in the third quarter thanks largel
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners among the wounded
28th Oct 2009 15:37
The list of blue chip fallers is littered with miners as the dollar's ongoing recovery sends commodity prices lower. Xstrata, Lonmin, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto are nursing losses, while a fall in oil prices towards $78 a barrel has hurt Petrofac, BP and Shell. Insurer Prudential fell as a 22% dive i
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks steady at lower levels
28th Oct 2009 14:10
Miners and financials remain a dead weight around Footsie's neck, but elsewhere, leading shares are slowly beginning to claw back losses. Prudential, which saw a surge in US business but posted a fall in UK sales, is still among the heaviest fallers. The Pru lifted group-wide retail sales by 10% to
Read moreLondon midday: Miners join financials on the slide
28th Oct 2009 12:05
Miners have joined financial stocks in the dog house as the Footsie dives below 5200 and threatens to carry on going to sub-5100 levels. With metal prices in retreat miners such as Xstrata, Lonmin and Kazakhmys have muscled aside insurer Prudential in the race to be worst performing Footsie stock.
Read moreLondon open: Shares start down
28th Oct 2009 08:21
London's blue chips have opened lower as investors consider a slew of big corporate announcements and rumours surrounding the British banking sector. The European Commission is expected to approve plans to break up and sell Northern Rock, according to press reports. The Independent is quoting a Br
Read moreRio Tinto doubles Ivanhoe stake
28th Oct 2009 08:02
Rio Tinto has paid $388m for another 9.8% of Canada's Ivanhoe Mines after completing the second tranche of its private placement investment, taking its total interest to 19.7%. The mining heavyweight, which bought 46.3m shares at $8.38 each, could own 258m shares, or 43.1%, if it exercised and conv
Read moreLondon open: BP heads advance
27th Oct 2009 08:35
BP has helped investors get over last night's three-figure dive on Wall Street, leading London higher in early deals. Index heavyweight BP kicked off the oil majors results season with third quarter figures that showed a smaller than feared drop in profits. Profit attributable to shareholders came
Read moreLondon close: Footsie suffers reversal of fortunes
26th Oct 2009 16:21
Stocks had looked like making a decent start to the week, but a dramatic and sudden sell-off on Wall Street quickly sent London into the red. The Dow Jones turned an early three-digit gain into a 100-point loss as US analyst Dick Bove downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp, SunTrust Banks and US Bancorp.
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks get lift from Wall Street
26th Oct 2009 14:20
After crawling higher throughout the morning session London's leading shares received a boost from a firm start on Wall Street. The market is buoyant despite weakness in the banking sector, where the market is holding its breath for the anticipated cash call by Lloyds Banking. Elsewhere in the sect
Read moreLondon midday: Shire gives Footsie boost
26th Oct 2009 12:03
Footsie is sitting just above the zero mark, with drug group Shire given a boost by some positive regulatory news. Shire is one of the top risers after it announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has affirmed its prior decision to grant five-year New Chemical Entity (NCE) exclusivit
Read moreLondon open: Shire drags FTSE higher
26th Oct 2009 08:36
Miners and drug group Shire are giving Footsie a lift in early dealings on Monday. Lonmin, Rio Tinto and Anglo American are among the best performing miners. Pharma firm Shire is leading the risers after it announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has affirmed its prior decision to
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