London close: FTSE jumps 1.6% after business-friendly Budget, Fed meeting ahead
18th Mar 2015 16:41
Those expecting little market reaction to the Budget on Wednesday were probably left surprised, with stocks in the energy, financial, housing and consumer staples sectors leading the surge in London following George Osborne's statement. Dovish comments from Bank of England policymakers were also buo
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Standard Chartered surges on upgrades, miners lower
18th Mar 2015 12:58
Shares in Standard Chartered surged after analysts at Barclays and Bernstein raised their ratings, highlighting the recent appointment of a former JPMorgan banker as its new boss. Barclays lifted their stance from 'equal weight' to 'overweight', while Bernstein upgraded by two notches from 'underper
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: CRH lower on Holcim rejection, miners and energy stocks higher
17th Mar 2015 12:39
Building materials group CRH was extending losses after Holcim on Monday rejected the terms of its proposed tie-up with Lafarge. CRH is set to snap up €6.5bn of assets from the two European cements companies when they merge. Tesco shares were in the red, reversing from Monday, alongside Morrison, as
Read moreMonday broker round-up
16th Mar 2015 15:59
Bodycote: N+1 Singer downgrades to hold. Morrrison: Deutsche Bank lifts target to 210p from 190p and reiterates hold. Centrica: Deutsche Bank reiterates hold and 280p target price. Rio Tinto: HSBC downgrades to neutral. IGas Energy: Cannacord Genuity lowers target to 85p from 125p and reiterates
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Retailers dominate risers, CRH lower on rejected merger
16th Mar 2015 14:08
Tesco led the FTSE 100 risers on reports that advertising and marketing giant WPP Group could potentially buy a majority stake in the supermarket's consumer behaviour tracker Dunnhumby. The business is valued at around £2bn and would offer WPP with an insight into UK shopping habits, the Sunday Tele
Read moreTuesday broker round-up
10th Mar 2015 11:53
Pearson: Barclays reiterates equal-weight recommendation and keeps target at 1,405p. UBM: Westhouse Securities takes target to 599p from 552p but reiterates add. ARM Holdings: Citi keeps at buy with a 1,35p target price. Kaz Minerals: Jefferies shaves target to 250p from 275p and reiterates hold.
Read moreLondon close: FTSE jumps to new record high on ECB stimulus
5th Mar 2015 16:24
Details of the European Central Bank's (ECB) quantitative easing package helped the FTSE 100 to another record close on Thursday, with financial stocks making solid gains by the end of the session. The Footise finished the day 41.9 points higher (+0.61%) at 6,961.14, surpassing a previous closing re
Read moreLondon midday: Aviva and Friends Life lead stocks higher ahead of ECB
5th Mar 2015 11:37
UK stocks gains on Thursday with decent gains by insurers Aviva and Friends Life offsetting weakness in the mining sector, as investors took an optimistic approach ahead of a much-anticipated central bank decision in Europe. The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to keep policy unchanged
Read moreM&A set heat up in mining sector as ex-Xstrata boss hunts deals
5th Mar 2015 10:47
M&A activity in the mining sector is set to heat up following reports on Thursday that former Xstrata boss Mick Davis is looking to take advantage of cheaper commodity prices to snap up some assets. According to a report in Wall Street Journal, Mick Davis, who was formerly the chief executive of Xst
Read moreTuesday tips round-up: Rio Tinto, Intertek
3rd Mar 2015 17:46
It's cheap and dirty - coal, that is. It has also become increasingly less profitable as the price has continued to decline. Since spring 2011 it has nearly halved. In fact, in the case of Australian mining group Rio Tinto, and at the current market price of $62 a tonne, it is no longer profitable t
Read moreLondon close: FTSE pulls back from record as miners dip into the red
2nd Mar 2015 16:37
UK stocks inched lower on Monday after hitting a new intraday record high during the session as markets were underwhelmed by a raft of positive manufacturing data and a rate cut in China. London's FTSE 100, which rose to a new all-time peak of 6,974.26 early on, finished 6.02 points lower (-0.09%) a
Read moreSector movers: Miners fall as PBOC rate cut underwhelms
2nd Mar 2015 15:37
Mining stocks declined on Monday as investors shrugged off some improving economic data from top metals user China and a rate cut by its central bank in an attempt to boost growth. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point for the second time in three month
Read moreLondon midday: FTSE flat on mixed earnings as Germany approves Greek extension
27th Feb 2015 11:50
UK stocks touched a new intraday record on Friday before slipping into the red, as investors treaded carefully on another busy day for corporate earnings and economic data. The FTSE 100 reached a new high of 6,960.00 early on, surpassing the previous intraday record reached on Tuesday, but had erase
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat early on ahead of German vote and economic data
27th Feb 2015 08:27
Strong gains from Lloyds, IAG and Old Mutual were not enough to lift markets on Friday as UK stocks held steady near record levels. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.07% lower at 6,945.11, after having settled at an all-time closing high of 6,949.73 on Thursday. Markets were directionless early on ahead o
Read moreLondon pre-open: Markets subdued ahead of data, German vote on Greece
27th Feb 2015 07:19
UK stocks were expected to open more or less flat on Friday after markets eked out another record close the previous session. Investors were likely to take a cautious approach ahead of a batch of economic data and a decision in German parliament on whether or not to approve Greece's bailout extensio
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