FTSE 100 movers: BP beats forecasts
30th Oct 2012 15:28
Oil giant BP gained ground after profits came in well ahead of forecasts in the third quarter and the company moved early on a dividend increase to nine cents per share (up 12.5%). In its first quarterly announcement since the recent deal with Rosneft, BP reported a clean net income of $5,170m on
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Hammerson rises on office sale
19th Oct 2012 16:02
Hammerson, the property company that has spent much of the year selling off its offices, rose on news that it continues to recycle the cash into shopping centres with the acquisition The Junction Unit Trust. The group has paid £254.5m for the trust, which owns four prominent retail parks in strong
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners rise as utilities sink
21st Sep 2012 14:20
Miners were generally performing well on Friday, clawing back some of yesterday's losses, but utilities are out of favour, especially National Grid, after JP Morgan Cazenove downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "neutral". Traders are still drumming their fingers, waiting impatiently for the
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Imperial Tobacco, United Utilities
21st Sep 2012 06:00
Martin Deboo, analyst at Investec Securities, raises two interesting points about Imperial Tobacco. One, it is the lowest rated across a range of 30 consumer goods producers, the shares, as the graph shows, having lost 200p of their value, or approaching 8 per cent, since July. To be fair, the compa
Read moreLondon close: Losses pared but miners are hit hard
20th Sep 2012 16:31
Losses were pared in the final 90 minutes of trading in London on a day when investors fretted about a slow-down in the global economy. Disappointing Chinese manufacturing data was released overnight, and the news was not good. China´s manufacturing sector Purchasing Manufacturers' Index (PMI) for
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: BSkyB rises on Ofcom announcement
20th Sep 2012 15:12
BSkyB rose after Ofcom announced that it believes the company "remains a fit and proper holder of its broadcasting licences". Commenting on the news analysts at Nomura are of the following opinion: "Ofcom does not demand James Murdoch be removed from the board, but leaves this question up to the oth
Read moreLondon midday: Global slow-down fears mash miners
20th Sep 2012 11:58
Miners remain under a cloud after disappointing Chinese manufacturing data was released overnight, but there was some cheer on the home front, as retail sales fell by less than feared in August. UK retail sales fell by 0.2% in August, slightly less than the 0.3% fall expected by economists. In year
Read moreLondon open: Miners battered by Chinese manufacturing slow-down
20th Sep 2012 08:42
London has opened lower with miners taking a hammering after a report from China showed manufacturing activity in the People's Republic in September only edged up from disappointing August levels. China´s manufacturing sector Purchasing Manufacturers' Index (PMI) for the month of September came in
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE drops on poor Asian data
20th Sep 2012 07:37
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 25 points from yesterday's close of 5,888, hit by two lots of poor economic data from Asia. Acting as a backdrop, US stocks finished off their best levels of the day. Of interest, remarks by Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher to the effect that the
Read moreUnited Utilities makes solid start
20th Sep 2012 07:21
Utility company United Utilities remains confident of delivering its 2010-15 regulatory out-performance targets after a solid start to the current financial year. Revenue in the year to the end of March 2013 should be higher than last year, but, as expected, the increase is slightly below the allow
Read moreLondon close: M&A rumour mill cranks up
19th Sep 2012 16:53
After trading in positive territory for most of the day Footsie dipped into the red after US markets opened lower, but bounced back into the black in the final 90 minutes of trading. The day started well with the Japanese central bank unexpectedly opting to beef up its quantitative easing programme
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: United Utilities rises on takeover speculation
19th Sep 2012 15:43
United Utilities rose into the top spot on the back of renewed speculation over a potential takeover. While one might be justified in being wary of simple speculation and rumours on this ocassion they were given credence by analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch no less. This follows talk to a si
Read moreFTSE 100 Movers: Miners drag footsie lower
24th Aug 2012 15:38
Mining stocks were heavy fallers with Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto, ENRC, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Vedanta, BHP Billiton and Randgold falling sharply, tracking various metal prices lower. ??Anglo American dropped after Jefferies downgraded the stock this morning from 'buy' to 'hold' despite yesterday'
Read moreLondon close: Stocks maintain gains despite mixed data
14th Aug 2012 17:06
- Eurozone GDP in line - German and French data beats expectations - UK inflation rises in July Some better-than-expected economic growth data from Germany and France helped UK stocks hold on to gains on Tuesday; although London's benchmark index, the FTSE 100, was trading within a narrow range of
Read moreSector movers: Standard Life boosts insurance sector
14th Aug 2012 16:38
Life assurance giant Standard Life jumped on Tuesday, giving a big lift to the life insurance sector, which was at the top of the pile in afternoon trade. Standard Life saw profits rise in the first half after a strong performance in the UK, its biggest market. Operating profit before tax was up 15
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