London midday: Markets rise on earnings, Gfk data
30th Jul 2013 11:39
Markets edged higher on Tuesday morning as traders reacted to a barrage of corporate earnings and data which showed that German consumers were at their most optimistic in six years. The GfK's forward-looking consumer confidence survey for Germany rose from 6.8 to 7.0 in August, its highest levels s
Read moreBroker tips: WPP, Next, Weir
30th Jul 2013 11:18
Nomura has maintained its 'buy' rating and 1,300p target price for advertising and media group WPP, saying that the tie-up of rival firms Publicis and Omnicom could be good for the UK-listed company. While the merged company will have a dominant positive in the creative and marking services industr
Read moreBroker snap: Investec optimistic about H2 delivery at Weir
30th Jul 2013 10:49
Investec has upgraded its rating for Weir Group from 'hold' to' buy' in the hope that the engineering firm will hit full-year targets despite missing forecasts in the first half. The company, which works the key sectors of minerals, oil & gas and energy, reported group revenues of £1,198m in the fi
Read moreLondon open: Markets higher as traders digest mixed earnings
30th Jul 2013 08:50
Strong gains for GKN, ITV, Weir and Next helped push London's FTSE 100 into positive territory on Tuesday morning, offsetting weakness from the likes of Barclays and BP. Meanwhile, markets across Europe were also doing well early on as investors reacted to upbeat earnings reports from French heavyw
Read moreTuesday broker round-up UPDATE
9th Jul 2013 07:53
Adept Telecom: Northland Capital revises target price from 108p to 115p and maintains a buy recommendation. AG Barr: Panmure Gordon raises target price from 500p to 600p and retains a hold recommendation. Aquarius Platinum: Westhouse Securities shifts target price from 35p to 40p upgrading from se
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Serco gains on growth forecast
28th Jun 2013 12:59
Public services outsourcing company Serco Group led the FTSE 100 race on Friday after saying it expects to report strong revenue growth in its full-year results. Schroders edged higher as the asset manager was upgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas to an 'outperform' rating in a research report on Fr
Read moreLondon close: Rally continues as FTSE 100 jumps
27th Jun 2013 16:44
Strong US economic data and some reassuring comments by a member of the Federal Reserve gave markets a big boost on Thursday, helping the FTSE 100 to extend gains into the third day. After hitting a fresh five-month low of 6,029 on Monday, the FTSE 100 has risen strongly over the past three session
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Smiths Group tops the leaderboard
27th Jun 2013 13:21
Engineering companies Smiths Group and Weir Group were the top gainers on Thursday.UBS upgraded Smith Group's stock to 'buy' from 'neutral', helping to push shares higher. Tate & Lyle advanced as Morgan Stanley rated the sweetener maker's stock for the first time on Thursday, recommending an 'overw
Read moreDeputy Chairman at Weir Group buys first stake
13th May 2013 16:27
Weir Group's new Deputy Chairman, Charles Berry, has begun building his stake in the company just two weeks into his new role. Berry, who joined the company at the beginning of the month, purchased 2,000 shares at 2,384.93p each for a total of £47,699. On the same day Berry took up the role, the
Read moreSector movers: Engineers galvanised by industrial data
9th May 2013 15:12
Engineers Weir and IMI led a charge by the industrial engineering sector, heartened by positive news of UK industrial production. Beating expectations of a modest 0.2% gain, UK industrial production output rose by 0.7% month-on-month in March, according to the latest data out from the Office for
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Weir and Facebook
2nd May 2013 06:18
The Tempus column in The Times has given a cautiously optimistic outlook for engineering firm Weir Group despite the company reporting a weak first quarter yesterday. The paper says that, like several firms so far this year, Weir's first three months were "not that brilliant" but it assured that i
Read moreLondon midday: Stocks extend gains ahead of Fed decision
1st May 2013 11:27
The FTSE 100 was taking advantage of low volumes on Wednesday morning, registering decent gains by lunchtime as other stock markets across Europe remained closed for the May Day public holiday. A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth didn't have too much of an effect on markets early on as trade
Read moreLondon open: Miners shrug off disappointing Chinese data
1st May 2013 08:21
A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth didn't have too much of an effect on stock markets on Wednesday morning as traders showed optimism in anticipation of a continuation of monetary stimulus from the US and a rate cut in Europe this week. Nevertheless, volumes are expected to be low today giv
Read moreWeir Q1 profits slide as project progress slows
1st May 2013 07:04
First quarter revenues and profits were down at engineering giant Weir with input falling 14 per cent against the prior year's comparator, but 14 per cent higher than the preceding quarter. Weir said it saw "good underlying sequential growth" in its minerals and oil & gas divisions and that, overa
Read moreLondon midday: Markets snap four-day losing streak
18th Apr 2013 11:17
Developments in the Eurozone were supporting stocks on Thursday morning as markets rebounded to snap a four-day losing streak. However, the focus is likely to turn to the US later on as first-quarter earnings season continues to dictate sentiment. Wall Street benchmarks slumped last night after som
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