London midday: Markets searching for direction after sell-off
16th Aug 2013 12:01
The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on Friday morning, swinging between gains and losses as equity markets searched for direction following a steep sell-off the day before in the UK and US. The London benchmark lost 1.6% on Thursday after better-than-expected jobless claims data in the States ignited con
Read moreLondon open: Markets rangebound after steep sell-off
16th Aug 2013 08:42
The FTSE 100 opened broadly flat on Friday morning with markets rangebound as sentiment still remained fragile following the steep sell-off the day before. The London benchmark lost 1.6% on Thursday after better-than-expected jobless claims data in the States ignited concerns that the Federal Reser
Read moreLondon midday: Markets fall on low volumes, Japan data
12th Aug 2013 11:52
In spite of a decent start, the FTSE 100 had swung into the red by Monday lunchtime, with analysts citing low volumes and weaker-than-expected economic data from Japan. Asian markets were mixed overnight with Chinese benchmarks performing well on an improved outlook in China, while Tokyo's Nikkei w
Read moreMorgan Sindall CEO sells 500,000 shares
9th Aug 2013 15:42
The founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Morgan Sindall has trimmed his stake in the construction and regeneration company to under a tenth over three millions pounds-worth of shares. John Morgan sold 500,000 shares (equal to a 1.16% holding) at a price of 665p each for a total of £3.3m, ta
Read moreLondon close: Stocks fall for fourth straight day
7th Aug 2013 17:00
The FTSE 100 finished in the red for the fourth straight day on Wednesday as worries over a withdrawal of stimulus in the US and an underwhelming statement from the Bank of England (BoE) dampened sentiment. Comments from a number of Federal Reserve officials and the ongoing improvement in US econom
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Old Mutual, Standard Chartered, RBS
7th Aug 2013 13:23
Old Mutual was at the top of the leaderboard after reporting a rise in half-year profits on the back of a rise in funds under management (FuM) and client cash flows. Standard Chartered advanced as Investec analysts recommended a 'buy' rating for the stock, citing the UK's "strong second quarter" re
Read moreBroker tips: StanChart, TUI Travel, Intu Properties
7th Aug 2013 11:36
Emerging markets-focused bank Standard Chartered was in focus on Wednesday, a day after its interim results impressed the market, with a number of brokers reacting to the figures. Numis raised its rating for the stock to 'add', while Exane BNP Paribas stayed 'neutral' and lifted its target price fr
Read moreBroker snap: UBS hails 'resilient' results from StanChart
7th Aug 2013 11:21
Emerging markets-focused bank Standard Chartered was in focus on Wednesday, a day after its interim results impressed the market, with a number of brokers reacting to the figures. Numis raised its rating for the stock to 'add', while Exane BNP Paribas stayed 'neutral' and lifted its target price fr
Read moreWednesday broker round-up UPDATE
7th Aug 2013 08:57
Antofagasta: Canaccord Genuity ups target price from 1000p to 1035p leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. BBA Aviation: JP Morgan increases target price from 289p to 343p retaining an overweight rating. UBS moves target price from 250p to 280p and reiterates a neutral rating. Liberum Capital ra
Read moreLondon close: Markets choppy on tapering concerns
6th Aug 2013 17:02
It was a choppy session on Tuesday with the FTSE 100 struggling for direction early on before sinking firmly into the red as concerns of a 'tapering' of stimulus in the US dampened sentiment. The FTSE 100 finished down 15 points at 6,604, though closed well off its intraday low after a late rally.
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo leads miners lower
6th Aug 2013 15:10
Mining stocks were dominating the fallers list on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday with precious metals group Fresnillo leading the way lower following some disappointing first-half results. Fresnillo's share price was down nearly 9.5% in afternoon trade after a 27% decline in gross profit to $518.9m in the
Read moreLondon midday: Markets trim losses after UK data, StanChart
6th Aug 2013 11:23
Markets had recovered some lost ground by Tuesday lunchtime following some early falls, as data showed that the UK economic recovery continues to gather momentum and results from banking group Standard Chartered were well received. The FTSE 100 opened firmly in the red this morning, dampened by wea
Read moreResilient StanChart provides banking relief in H1 numbers
6th Aug 2013 10:56
Standard Chartered proved the benefit of its geographic diversity as it delivered a 3.2bn dollar pre-tax profit even despite a huge impairment from its Korean business. Although regulatory change in Seoul has led to a crumbling of banking sector profits in the country and a $1.0bn goodwill impairm
Read moreLondon close: HSBC weighs on markets despite strong data
5th Aug 2013 16:32
Worse-than-expected results from the FTSE 100's largest constituent, HSBC, hit markets hard on Monday though losses were limited by some strong economic data from across the globe. The FTSE 100 finished down 28 points at 6,620. Before HSBC's results were released, services data from the UK, Eurozo
Read moreSector movers: HSBC drags banks lower after H1 disappointment
5th Aug 2013 15:09
Heavy falls by HSBC, the largest listed company by market capitalisation in London, ensured that the banking sector was the worst performer on Monday, despite some impressive gains from smaller peer Lloyds. HSBC, which has a market cap of around £135bn by today's prices, disappointed analysts this
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