London midday: Banks rise, retailers drop, BoE maintains rate
12th Jan 2012 11:58
After a subdued start, the Footsie seems to have found its direction, trading up near the 5,700 level, helped by the latest Italian and Spanish debt auctions which saw solid demand and a fall in yields. Italy has sold a total of €12bn in bills, with yields on its 12-month debt falling to 2.74% from
Read moreThursday broker round-up - UPDATE
12th Jan 2012 09:08
Reckitt Benckiser: J.P. Morgan Cazenove downgrades to neutral from overweight. Tesco: Nomura reiterates buy rating and 500p target; Panmure Gordon cuts target from 500p to 440p, buy rating unchanged. Royal Bank of Scotland: Shore Capital reiterates sell. Tesco: Shore Capital downgrades to hold fr
Read moreLondon open: RBS rises after shake-up, Tesco plummets
12th Jan 2012 08:28
A sharp fall for the retailers was met with a strong showing by the banks this morning, equating to a flat start for the FTSE 100. It has been reasonably busy on the corporate front, with several firms providing trading statements, but RBS and Tesco dominated the headlines early on. MARKETS CELEBRA
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Galliford Try and Sainsbury
12th Jan 2012 06:51
House builder Galliford Try has gained a whopping 52% in the last 12 months, catching the eye of Tempus in The Times. The impressive price performance has come, says Tempus, on the back of a gamble on land prices in 2009 when the company raised £120m to go on a buying spree, mainly in the south and
Read moreLondon close: Euro worries pull Footsie lower
11th Jan 2012 16:58
Eurozone debt worries weighed on London's stock market today with some disappointing economic data from the region's largest economy dampening the mood. Energy stocks led the decline on the FTSE 100, tracking oil prices lower. SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS RUMBLES ON News that German gross domestic produc
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks retreat, Unilever drops after downgrade
11th Jan 2012 11:49
After trading within a narrow 20-point range for most of the morning, it seems if the Footsie has found its direction, dropping around 40 points by midday, with Eurozone concerns once again in the spotlight. Euro-area gross domestic product growth slowed to 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the third quar
Read moreBroker tips: Sainsbury, SuperGroup, Michael Page
11th Jan 2012 11:17
Panmure Gordon has retained its hold recommendation and 350p target price on supermarket giant Sainsbury but has highlighted some positive takeaways from the firm's upbeat Christmas trading update today. Analyst Philip Dorgan says that the broker has kept its neutral stance on the stock as the shar
Read moreBroker snap: Sainsbury fairly valued, hold says Panmure
11th Jan 2012 10:14
Panmure Gordon has retained its hold recommendation on supermarket giant Sainsbury but has highlighted some positive takeaways from the firm's upbeat Christmas trading update today. Total sales for the 14 weeks to January 7th were up 7.0% from a year earlier, or up 4.5% with fuel sales excluded. Li
Read moreWednesday broker round-up - UPDATE
11th Jan 2012 08:56
Unilever: Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgrades to underweight from neutral. Aggreko: Credit Suisse downgrades to neutral from outperform. Capita: Citi upgrades to buy from neutral. Reckitt Benckiser: Morgan Stanley upgrades to overweight from neutral. Rentokil: RBC upgrades to top-pick fr
Read moreLondon open: Footsie pulls back early on
11th Jan 2012 08:16
The FTSE 100 nudged lower in early trading on Wednesday despite a decent start for retailers, as investors pause for breath following yesterday's sharp rise, which was sparked by the announcement that Fitch does not intend to downgrade France this year. After a strong showing yesterday, the heavywe
Read moreLondon pre-open: Sainsbury lights up at Christmas
11th Jan 2012 07:22
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 13 points from yesterday's close of 5,696 as investors pause for breath following yesterday's sharp rise, which was sparked by the announcement that Fitch does not intend to downgrade France this year. Supermarket chain Sainsbury was widely expecte
Read moreGreat Christmas for Sainsbury, now for the Queen's jubilee
11th Jan 2012 07:02
Confirmation that supermarket chain Sainsbury has regained its mojo came in the form of the group's best ever Christmas sales performance, which topped the market's expectations. The group was widely expected to have had the best Christmas of the major UK players, and it appears to have set a high
Read moreWednesday preview: Sainsbury tipped to shine
10th Jan 2012 15:05
The market was none too enthused on Monday with the Christmas trading update from supermarket group Morrisons and on Wednesday it is the turn of rival Sainsbury to march to the crease when it publishes a fiscal third quarter update. Nomura Securities thinks the UK's number three supermarket chain wi
Read moreFTSE 100: ENRC soars on dispute settlement
5th Jan 2012 13:22
Shares in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) leapt on news it has settled a dispute with Canadian mining firm First Quantum over assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two disgruntled companies have reached an agreement under which ENRC will pay First Quantum £1.25bn for the ma
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Next's forecasts to be downgraded, broker suggests
4th Jan 2012 12:39
Fashion chain Next was in the bottom spot on the FTSE 100 leader-board after it saw slightly disappointing trading at its Retail stores. Interestingly, the firm says its post-Christmas sale period has gone well, with final clearance rates slightly ahead of 2010. This will give investors some heart
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