London open: FTSE 100 in another assault on 6,000
20th May 2011 08:30
Stocks have opened higher on a quiet day on the company news front, consolidating recent gains and moving closer to the psychologically important 6,000 point mark. BP - more specifically last year's disastrous oil spill - is in focus again, but the oil giant's shares are higher after it said MOEX,
Read moreLondon pre-open: Modest progress expected
20th May 2011 07:49
Stocks are set to open modestly higher following a solid showing overnight on Wall Street. City traders expect the blue-chip index will open around 16 points firmer at 5,972. The legion of income investors holding Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares were kept happy as the utility company bump
Read moreSSE trumpets its dividend growth
20th May 2011 07:18
The legion of income investors holding Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares were kept happy as the utility company bumped up the dividend a bit more than anticipated on the back of better than expected results. The full year dividend has been hiked 7.1% to 75p from 70p last year, a shade above
Read moreFriday preview: SSE, Mitchells & Butlers
19th May 2011 17:49
Energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) releases full year results on Friday that should not contain too many surprises after the company issued profits guidance back in February. The company said back then that full year profits should be in line with City expectations which, at the time
Read moreSector movers: Land Securities boosts real estate trusts
18th May 2011 15:36
The real estate investment trust sector is the best performing sector after full-year results from Land Securities. Property giant Land Securities is towering above the rest of the FTSE 100 after it posted a sharp rise in profits and net asset value in the year to 31 March and predicted continued g
Read moreSector movers: Spectris helps electrical stocks higher
13th May 2011 16:01
Precision instruments and controls group Spectris has bolstered the electronic and electrical equipment sector today after hailing a strong start to the year. Trading during the year so far for the FTSE 250 firm has been good, assisted by a healthy order book. Like-for-like sales were up by 21% in
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Oil and metals stocks edge rise higher
13th May 2011 15:34
Commodity price-sensitive stocks were wanted today, as the prices of precious metals and oil recovered from the recent sell-off. Oil services group Petrofac is higher after saying it is "increasingly confident" that it will deliver profit growth in line with previous guidance after a strong perform
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners in full retreat
12th May 2011 14:39
The mining sector is out of favour Thursday as worries over global economic growth have caused continuing declines in commodity prices. Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp and Lonmin are among the worst performers. Meanwhile, the insurers are also on the dec
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: IAG tops the risers
26th Apr 2011 14:31
Airline IAG, luxury brand Burberry and chip giant ARM are the best performing blue chips. Rio Tinto is edging higher after coming to an agreement with the government of Guinea, paving the way for work to begin on the Simandou iron ore project in the southern part of the country. Meanwhile, sector
Read moreBroker snap: Upside risk at SSE
26th Apr 2011 10:47
Despite the recent strong run in Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) shares, Credit Suisse thinks that the lead indicators for profitability are still not priced-in, and sees a risk of upgrades. "We see power production volumes and spreads increasing, and think the recent electricity market reforms
Read moreSSE sells three wind farms for £173.6m
15th Apr 2011 11:50
Energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has offloaded its 100% interest in three UK wind farms for £173.6m. The three sites - Dalwinton and Minsca in Scotand, and Slieve Divena in Northern Ireland - have a total capacity of 96.8 megawatts and have been sold to renewable power generator I
Read moreLondon close: Miners drive FTSE 100 rally
8th Apr 2011 16:44
Stocks went into the weekend on the front foot as higher commodity prices drove miners forward. Shares in Fresnillo, which mines for silver in Mexico, went well as the precious metal hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, but was leapfrogged by more mainstream miners such as Anglo American
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners dominate risers
8th Apr 2011 13:32
Surging commodity prices have helped the miners dominate the FTSE 100 risers, with seven out of top ten best performers coming from the sector. Shares in Fresnillo, which mines for silver in Mexico, are higher after silver hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, while gold prices have hit r
Read moreBroker tips: SSE, Henderson, bwin.party
8th Apr 2011 12:16
Credit Suisse upgrades energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) from 'neutral' to 'outperform', saying that while last year's results will see many adverse earnings impacts, earnings growth could be strong from here on. The broker says that volumes in the full year ended March look likely t
Read moreLondon midday: Shares buoyant as commodities soar
8th Apr 2011 12:13
Miners are leading the rally in the FTSE 100 as commodity prices advance, though the higher oil price is causing concern. Shares in Fresnillo, which mines for silver in Mexico, were the best performing in London's leading share index. Silver hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, while gol
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