London afternoon: Banks defy broker gloom
7th Jan 2010 14:27
Leading shares are mixed, with the Footsie barely changed now miners have recovered from a weak showing in the morning session to show gains in the afternoon. Kazakhmys and Fresnillo lead the mining sector but their gains are surpassed by two stocks from the banking sector where Barclays and Lloyds
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks mixed, supermarkets higher
7th Jan 2010 13:06
Footsie has hauled itself back into the blue as banks and miners rallied and from a weak start. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initailly unsettled the bank sector with comments that European banks are 'growing nowhere fast', and has downgraded the sector to 'neutral'. But within that broad sector view i
Read moreSector movers: Sainsbury's update lifts food retail
7th Jan 2010 12:58
Sainsbury's is helping lift the food retail sector higher after saying today a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales, including fuel, rose by 3.8% in the 13 weeks to 2 January, while like-for-lik
Read moreLondon midday: Bank sits on hands
7th Jan 2010 11:51
London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged. Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie'
Read moreLondon open: Miners offset strong supermarkets
7th Jan 2010 08:14
Miners are leading London's top stocks lower in early dealings on Thursday, offsetting strong demand in supermarket groups. Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are among the worst performers. On the positive side, Sainsbury, Tesco and Mo
Read moreLondon pre-open: Lower start expected
7th Jan 2010 07:38
Footsie is expected to give up some of its recent gains in early dealings as the company news flow picks up following the Christmas break. Sainsbury's said a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales
Read moreRecord Christmas boosts Sainsbury's
7th Jan 2010 07:01
Sainsbury said a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales, including fuel, rose by 3.8% in the 13 weeks to 2 January, while like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT were up by 4.2%. Total sales ro
Read moreLondon close: More gains for FTSE 100
6th Jan 2010 16:34
It was another day of gains for the FTSE 100 after the leading share index hauled itself into the blue in afternoon trading. Marks & Spencer was among the stocks dragging Footsie lower and finished firmly in the red. It was not the numbers from the fashion and food retailer that upset the market s
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: M&S update disappoints
6th Jan 2010 14:07
Two stocks stand out in the FTSE 100. Fashion and food retailer Marks and Spencer has fallen after reporting strong Christmas trading while sounding caution on 2010 prospects. But data search and interpretative software specialist Autonomy is the top riser after saying it expects to report 2009 re
Read moreLondon afternoon: Leading shares mixed
6th Jan 2010 13:50
The list of Footsie constituents is now almost evenly split between risers and fallers but the blue-chip index remains in negative territory, weighed down by Marks & Spencer, which remains out of favour after a disappointing trading update. It was not the numbers from Marks & Spencer that upset th
Read moreThursday preview: Sainsbury, JD Sports, Hays
6th Jan 2010 12:54
Focus remains firmly on the retailers on Thursday with supermarket chain Sainsbury and sportswear fashion seller JD Sports both giving trading updates. Sainsbury has been playing catch-up with Tesco and Asda for the last few years, all the while looking over its shoulder at fast growing sector numb
Read moreLondon midday: No sparks from Marks
6th Jan 2010 11:52
Leading shares were attempting their second rally of the morning as the lunchtime session started, but almost two-thirds of FTSE 100 constituents remain in the red. Chief among them is M&S. The cold weather may have seen woolly jumpers and slippers fly off the shelves at Marks & Spencer in the days
Read moreSector movers: M&S heaps more woe on retail
6th Jan 2010 11:45
The retail sector is lower for the second day in a row following Marks & Spencer's Christmas trading update. Sales rose 2.6% in the 13 weeks to 26 December and by 2.3% in the UK, but echoing comments from fellow clothes retailer Next yesterday, M&S chairman Stuart Rose said: 'We expect the trading
Read moreLondon close: Strong run continues
5th Jan 2010 16:40
Strength in the financial sector helped Footsie continue its strong start to 2009, closing near its highest levels in more than a year. RBS added to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the best t
Read moreLondon afternoon: Cadbury melts as Nestle withdraws
5th Jan 2010 14:26
The Footsie moved sideways over the lunch time session, with strength in financials and miners continuing to offset weakness among retailers. RBS adds to yesterday's stellar gains and is joined higher by fellow banks Barclays and Lloyds. The latter pair have been selected by Deutsche Bank as the b
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