London midday: Stocks rise on hopes over taper delays
18th Oct 2013 11:23
The FTSE 100 came close to a one-month high on Friday morning on hopes that the political uncertainty in Washington may prompt the Federal Reserve to continue with its stimulus measures for a little longer. Also helping sentiment this morning was Chinese gross domestic product which grew at a year-
Read moreBroker snap: Market overly cautious on SSE and Shanks, says Credit Suisse
18th Oct 2013 09:25
Credit Suisse has labelled SSE and Shanks as buying opportunities, saying that the market is overly cautious about these utility providers. Proposals by the Labour Party to freeze tariffs may have increased political risk perceptions in the industry, but this could be mitigated by reduced spend, Cr
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
14th Oct 2013 08:46
Admiral Group: JP Morgan cuts target price from 1122p to 1022p maintaining an underweight rating. Balfour Beatty: Numis increases target price from 285p to 315p and stays with its add rating. Bankers Petroleum: Goldman Sachs takes target price from 365p to 379p and reiterates a buy recommendation.
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: Royal Mail, Milliband, Repo market
11th Oct 2013 07:11
Shares in the Royal Mail have been priced at 330p but no private investor who applied for shares will get more than 749.10 pounds-worth - and those who applied for more than 10,000 pounds will get nothing. The share price values the postal service at 3.3bn pounds, the government confirmed last night
Read moreLondon close: Stocks surge on signs of progress in Washington
10th Oct 2013 16:35
Stocks rebounded strongly on Thursday after hitting a three-month low the day before, as hopes that US politicians can resolve the ongoing deadlock in Washington prompted bargain hunters back into the market. The FTSE 100 finished 92.58 points higher at 6,430.49, a rise of 1.46%. This comes after t
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Persimmon boosted by 'Help to Buy' confidence
10th Oct 2013 14:35
House builder Persimmon was a high riser this afternoon as optimism over the government's 'Help to Buy' scheme continues to help the stock bounce off recent lows. The share price has now gained over 10 per cent over the last two days. Whitbread shares leapt on market chatter about a potential spin-
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks rebound strongly from three-month low
10th Oct 2013 11:16
UK markets jumped strongly on Thursday morning following three straight days of losses as hopes build over a resolution to the political deadlock in Washington and the continuation of monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve. After hitting a three-month low yesterday, the FTSE 100 rebounded strong
Read moreLondon open: Stocks rise on hopes over US deal, taper delay
10th Oct 2013 08:22
Stocks gained strongly on Thursday morning as signs of progress in Washington and hopes over a continuation of US monetary stimulus prompted bargain hunters to step in following three straight days of losses. The FTSE 100 set a fresh three-month low of 6,337.91 on Wednesday afternoon, its worst lev
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to open higher as hopes build for US resolution
10th Oct 2013 07:24
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 26 points higher than Wednesday's close of 6,337.91, tracking Japanese stocks higher as they hit their highest levels in a week on improved sentiment. There have also been encouraging signs from the US, with one Republican aide reportedly indicati
Read moreSSE hikes energy tariffs by 8.2 per cent due to rising costs
10th Oct 2013 07:09
Household utility giant SSE has revealed that electricity and gas tariffs are to rise by an average 8.2 per cent from November, meaning that typical dual-fuel customers will be paying an extra two pounds per week. The company said that raising prices "is the last thing [it] wants to do" and remains
Read moreLondon midday: Retailers, miners drag FTSE 100 into the red
8th Oct 2013 11:20
Markets were sharply lower on Tuesday with retailers and miners providing a drag as investors digested a barrage of gloomy economic data and the ongoing government shutdown in the States. The FTSE 100 dipped below the 6,400 mark in morning trade, a level seen as support for London's benchmark index
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
4th Oct 2013 09:32
Aberdeen Asset Management: JP Morgan lowers target price from 523p to 509p maintaining an overweight rating. Admiral Group: Canaccord Genuity cuts target price from 1200p to 1160p retaining its sell recommendation. API Group: Numis downgrades to add with a target price of 85p. Arbuthnot Banking G
Read moreLondon close: Late rally not enough as FTSE 100 falls for fourth straight day
2nd Oct 2013 16:43
A slight bounce in the UK-listed mining sector saw the FTSE 100 rally on Wednesday afternoon but the index still finished firmly in the red, setting a fresh one-month low as political uncertainty in the US and Italy continued to weigh on sentiment. The FTSE 100 finished down 22.51 points at 6,437.5
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Supermarket stocks take a hit
2nd Oct 2013 14:45
Coca-Cola HBC continued to slide lower to become the biggest faller this afternoon. However, much of the focus was on supermarket giant Tesco today as it registered steep losses after disappointing the market with its interim results. Half-year underlying pre-tax profit fell 7.4% to £1.4bn as an i
Read moreLondon midday: ECB, political uncertainty in focus as stocks fall
2nd Oct 2013 11:27
The FTSE 100 suffered steep losses on Wednesday morning as buyers showed caution ahead of a policy decision in Europe, whilst political uncertainty in the US and Italy continues to erode risk appetite. The all-important European Central Bank (ECB) policy decision is due at 12:45 this afternoon, tho
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