London close: Shares end with small gains
8th Mar 2010 17:14
London's top stocks ended the day with small gains after trading in a very tight range all day as shares paused for breath following last week's good gains. Oil fabrications giant Petrofac was one of the day's major bright spot after it made a bit more than expected last year, with after tax profit
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie still seeking direction
8th Mar 2010 14:56
Footsie continues sitting around the 5,600 point mark as shares pause for breath following last week's good gains. Oil fabrications giant Petrofac is today's major bright spot after it made a bit more than expected last year, with after tax profit up 37%, and hiked the dividend by an impressive 41%
Read moreLondon close: Footsie hits 18-month high
5th Mar 2010 17:00
Strong economic data from the US sent Footsie to its highest levels since late 2008. The leading share index closed a whisker shy of the 5,600 point mark. A much better than feared read on US non-payrolls sparked the surge. The US jobs figures showed 36,000 jobs were lost in February, compared wit
Read moreLondon afternoon: Footsie through 5,600, 18-month high
5th Mar 2010 16:07
London's blue-chips have surged forward to an 18-month high and climbed above 5,600 for the first time since late 2008. A much better than feared read on US non-payrolls has spaeked today's surge, with the Dow adding 100 points and miners surging higher alongside bank shares. The US jobs figures s
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie powers on
5th Mar 2010 11:58
London's blue-chips are nearing a 52-week high on renewed optimism over the banks, a good morning for miners and despite a mixed read on UK factory gate inflation. The cost of goods at the factory gates in February was 4.1% higher than a year earlier, a tad above the 4% annual gain expected by eco
Read moreLondon open: Footsie rising again
5th Mar 2010 08:47
UK equities have opened firmly helped by another good session on Wall St and more gains for the banks. Schroders, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered lead the financials higher, while Fresnillo, Lonmin and Xstrata are strong among the miners. Swiss group Glencore International
Read moreLondon pre-open: Firm start foreseen
5th Mar 2010 07:48
Spurred on by Wall Street's solid performance yesterday UK equities are set to open the day on a firm footing with traders predicting the blue-chip index will open at around 5,550 compared to last night's close of 5527. WPP has been hit hard by the recession and slump in advertising spend, but head
Read moreWPP numbers better than feared
5th Mar 2010 07:05
WPP has been hit hard by the recession and slump in advertising spend, but headline profit before tax fell less than expected during a "brutal" 2009 and there was an encouraging return to stability in January. Headline profit before tax for the 12 months to 31 December fell 16%, or 24% at constant
Read moreFriday preview: Michael Page, WPP, UBM
4th Mar 2010 17:16
Investors are keen to see if Michael Page did better than Hays in the last six months of 2009 when the white collar recruiter reports final figures Friday. Hays slumped last week when it said interim profit plunged to £3.4m from £100.8m in 2008 and warned that business remains "challenging" in the
Read moreSector movers: RBS drags leads banks lower
8th Dec 2009 14:55
Royal Bank of Scotland is leading the banking sector lower. Trading in the state-controlled bank briefly stopped trading and it went into 'auction' as the price tumbled below 30p, though it has since recovered a little. The auction process is used when a company's share price falls, or rises too q
Read moreLondon close: Late swoon by Footsie
30th Oct 2009 16:52
Mining stocks proved a major millstone around Footsie's neck today while end of the month position closing also contributed to a fall of almost 2% on the blue-chip index, a decline that was mirrored on Wall Street. The US market gave back most of yesterday's gains in the morning session after US co
Read moreLondon afternoon: Shire provides some cheer
30th Oct 2009 14:19
Footsie dipped into the red over the lunch-time session, as Wall Street opened lower. Metal prices are in retreat, prompting investors to bail out of mining stocks, including precious metals miners such as Fresnillo and Randgold. Among base metal miners, Kazakhmys and Lonmin are the worst perform
Read moreSector movers: Media stocks in demand
30th Oct 2009 12:26
Media stocks are in demand following announcements from advertising group WPP and the directories company Yell. WPP said it expects the second half to show a marked improvement in profitability and said overall conditions are "less worse". Yellow Pages owner Yell, which yesterday extended the dead
Read moreLondon midday: Retailers lifted by consumer confidence
30th Oct 2009 12:12
Insurers and miners are hampering the Footsie's progress today, but outside of these two sectors most blue-chips are on an upward trajectory, helped by some decent news on the economy. Economic data released Friday shows that UK consumers are more confident now than at any time in the last 21 mont
Read moreLondon open: Upbeat start for Footsie
30th Oct 2009 08:18
London's blue chips have opened higher thanks to upbeat economic and company news out this morning. Economic data released Friday shows that UK consumers are more confident now than at any time in the last 21 months. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index improved to -13 in October, the best number
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