London midday: Stocks hit by Syria concerns, BG Group drops
9th Sep 2013 11:29
Markets shrugged off improving economic data from Asia on Monday morning with stocks falling into the red on concerns over a potential Western military intervention in Syria. Syria will be in firm focus this week ahead of a vote by US Congress over whether or not to proceed with a military attack a
Read moreBroker tips: BG Group, AB Foods, Tate & Lyle
9th Sep 2013 11:03
Investec has placed its estimate for BG Group under review and maintained its negative stance on the stock after the natural gas firm scaled back its production guidance for next year. "We expect to cut our forecasts by 3-4%. Despite strong earnings and cash flow growth, on our current forecasts BG
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
9th Sep 2013 10:42
Associated British Foods: Panmure Gordon cuts target price from 2100p to 2075p, while leaving its buy recommendation unchanged. Investec places its target price (prev.: 1930p) under review keeping a hold recommendation. Aviva: Morgan Stanley increases target price from 403p to 445p and maintains an
Read moreBroker snap: UBS downgrades Tate & Lyle on lofty valuation
9th Sep 2013 09:10
Sugar and food group Tate & Lyle (T&L) was in the red on Monday morning after UBS downgraded the firm from 'neutral' to 'sell', saying that the share price is currently too expensive. The Swiss bank said that the stock's valuation is overly high and does not reflect that "sucralose prices continue
Read moreLondon open: Syria, taper uncertainty weigh on stocks
9th Sep 2013 08:26
Markets opened broadly lower on Monday morning as improving data from Asia was offset by continuing concerns over tensions in Syria. With the economic data calendar for Europe and the US looking pretty thin for Monday, investors are likely to focus on figures from China where trade and inflation nu
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 at three-week high after policy meetings
5th Sep 2013 17:03
A host of central-bank policy meetings, a dovish tone from Mario Draghi and the continued improvement in US economic data helped lift stocks higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 closing at levels not seen in three weeks. London's benchmark index ended the day up 57.7 points at 6,532.44, its highes
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: M&S leaps after HSBC upgrade
5th Sep 2013 15:20
High Street department store Marks & Spencer surged today after HSBC upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'overweight', saying it is the most operationally geared among its peers to play on the UK consumer recovery. Hotels group IHG was also a high riser after UBS raised its rating from 'neutral to
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks trim gains, BoE holds rates
5th Sep 2013 11:27
After a strong start for UK stocks, the FTSE 100 pared gains by lunchtime as nervousness set in ahead of a number of risk events that have the potential to spark some volatile moves on financial markets. Risk appetite was also scaled back ahead of the G20 meeting which begins in St Petersburg today
Read moreLondon close: Stocks jump on improvement in global data
22nd Aug 2013 17:11
London's FTSE 100 jumped on Thursday as investors temporarily shrugged off an underwhelming set of minutes from the Federal Reserve and instead focused on improving data from across the world which brightened the global economic outlook. The FTSE 100 ended the day at 6,446.87, up 56.03 points on th
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: IMI, Wolseley, Vedanta Resources
22nd Aug 2013 14:01
IMI's shares rallied after the engineering company forecast an improvement in trading for the second half as it takes on higher-margin contracts at its severe service business. Wolseley gained after UBS upgraded its stocks to 'buy' from 'neutral' ahead of its results, saying "our analysis of US pee
Read moreFormer Diageo CEO sells 3.9m-pound stake
1st Aug 2013 15:50
Paul Walsh, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Diageo who now serves on the board as an advisor, sold nearly four million pounds of shares in the drinks giant on Thursday, just one day after the Guinness maker impressed the market with a solid increase in annual net sales. Walsh, who was
Read moreLondon close: Markets shrug off German downgrade rumours to finish higher
24th Jul 2013 16:56
Unconfirmed rumours of a downgrade to Germany's sovereign debt rating rattled markets on Wednesday afternoon, but stocks recovered to register moderate gains by the close of trade. The FTSE 100 finished the session up 23 points at 6,620. Senior Market Analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets said:
Read moreLondon midday: Markets boosted by earnings, Eurozone PMIs
24th Jul 2013 11:23
Upbeat corporate earnings from a number of heavyweights and improving data in the Eurozone gave UK markets a boost on Wednesday morning, as traders shrugged off concerns about manufacturing activity in China. easyJet, ARM Holdings, Tate & Lyle, Kingfisher and Compass were all trading firmly higher
Read moreLondon open: Markets rise as earnings impress
24th Jul 2013 08:53
Well-received updates and results from easyJet, ARM Holdings, Tate & Lyle, Compass and Kingfisher pushed the FTSE 100 firmly into positive territory on Wednesday morning, as markets shrugged off disappointing economic data from China. HSBC's flash China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI
Read moreTate & Lyle maintains outlook despite US softness in Q1
24th Jul 2013 07:53
Food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle said that adjusted profits were in line with expectations in spite of tough weather conditions in the States in the first quarter. The group, well known for its sugar and SPLENDA sweeteners brands, said on Wednesday morning: "Our outlook for the year remains unchan
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