London close: Stocks trim losses on Greek hopes, Chinese stimulus
4th Feb 2015 17:09
A late rally helped the FTSE 100 to erase most of its losses on Wednesday as optimism surrounding Greece and stimulus measures in China lifted sentiment, though stocks still finished in the red after hitting a five-month high the previous day. London's Footsie ended the session down 0.2% at 6,860.02
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks fall, but losses pared after PBoC move
4th Feb 2015 12:08
Stocks declined on Wednesday as London's FTSE 100 retreated from a five-month high, though losses were trimmed slightly after China took measures to stimulate its economy. The People's Bank of China trimmed the banks' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points to 19.5%, the first such cut since Ma
Read moreLondon open: Stocks retreat from five-month high, Hargreaves Lansdown falls
4th Feb 2015 09:03
London's blue-chip stocks pulled back from a five-month high on Wednesday morning as investors watched developments in Greece and service-sector data from across the globe. The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 6,857 early on, as strong gains from Sky and a host of pharmaceutical stocks were outweighed by f
Read moreLondon close: Stocks finish choppy session higher as oil stocks gain, CRH jumps
2nd Feb 2015 17:19
A late rebound ensured that UK stocks finished firmly in positive territory on Monday, though trading was choppy as investors digested mixed manufacturing data from across the globe and a rebound in oil prices. After swinging between gains and losses for most of the session, London's FTSE 100 closed
Read moreSector movers: Energy stocks jump as crude steadies after recent surge
2nd Feb 2015 14:50
The biggest strike by US refinery employees in three decades and speculation about a slowdown in drilling Stateside helped keep crude prices steady on Monday, pushing energy stocks and oil services shares to the top of the pile in London. The industrial action, coordinated by the United Steelworkers
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: CRH surges on Holcim and Lafarge deal, Easyjet and IAG hit by rising oil prices
2nd Feb 2015 14:07
Irish building materials group CRH rose nearly 6% after confirming it will spend €6.5bn on assets from Holcim and Lafarge as the two European cement makers dispose of operations to win approval for their merger. CRH said it expected the deal to make it the "global number-three building materials pla
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks trim gains, but CRH and Tullow surge
2nd Feb 2015 12:06
CRH and energy stocks pushed the FTSE 100 higher by Monday lunchtime, though gains were pared as investors digested data and watched developments in Greece. London's benchmark index was up 0.3% at 6,771 by midday, having pulled back after hitting a high of 6,795.52 early on. CRH was on the rise aft
Read moreSector movers: Shell dampens energy stocks, gold miners track bullion lower
29th Jan 2015 16:01
Worse-than-expected results from one of the biggest oil companies in the world hit stocks in the energy sector on Thursday. Royal Dutch Shell delivered a 12% year-on-year increase in adjusted profits in the fourth quarter to $3.3bn, well below the consensus forecast of $4.2bn. The company also anno
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: CRH and Reckitt rise, while commodity stocks feel the pinch
23rd Jan 2015 13:15
Irish cement maker CRH jumped on Friday after news emerged it was leading the race to buy assets from rivals Holcim and Lafarge. Both firms are offloading businesses to ensure their proposed merger is approved and CRH has reportedly bid as much as €6bn for the assets. The firm confirmed it is in dis
Read moreTullow Oil delivers positive update on drilling onshore Kenya
22nd Jan 2015 08:00
Tullow Oil has delivered a mostly positive update on its drilling activities onshore Kenya, with testing on a number of wells showing the presence of hydrocarbons. Drilling on the Ngamia-5, Ngamia-6 and Amosing-3 appraisal wells all encountered net oil pay and the sites have been suspended for furth
Read moreLondon close: Chinese data offsets IMF downgrade
20th Jan 2015 17:23
Stocks ended the session with modest gains on the heels of better-than-expected growth figures in China. The FTSE 100 gained 34.57 points to finish the day at 6,629. China's gross domestic product expanded at a 7.4% clip in 2014, markets seemed to draw comfort from the fact that the rate of expansi
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Chinese data boosts commodities and retail, Unilever sinks on dissapointing growth
20th Jan 2015 13:57
Fast-moving consumer goods giant Unilever was among the fallers after revealing slower-than-expected growth in 2014. Underlying sales were up 2.9%, faster than the markets they operate in but lower than analyst forecasts, with volumes higher by 1% and prices advancing by 1.9%. The company's core
Read moreBroker tips: Tesco, Tullow Oil, Greene King, KAZ Minerals
19th Jan 2015 14:18
Supermarket operator Tesco has scope to materially improve its UK operations, according to Morgan Stanley which upgraded the stock from 'equalweight' to 'overweight' and hiked its target price from 155p to 260p. Together with moves to optimise its portfolio, that should drive the shares to outperfor
Read moreTullow facing funding risk, UBS slashes target price by 30%
19th Jan 2015 11:44
Tullow Oil has $2.4bn of headroom on its debt facilities, but UBS still reckoned that the oil and gas group faced a "funding risk" as it slashed its target price for the stock from 465p to 335p. "A cyclical downturn in E&P asset markets has thwarted Tullow's execution of a key leg of its strategy -
Read moreLondon close: Stocks rally strongly after Swiss move as ECB stimulus hopes rise
15th Jan 2015 16:36
A surprise policy move by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) resulted in a choppy day for UK markets on Thursday, though stocks were able to regain their composure and rally strongly as the dust settled. The FTSE 100 finished the session 110.32 points higher at 6,498.78, up 1.7% on the day due to increas
Read more