London stocks were up at midday on Friday, on the back of an interest rate hold from the Bank of England and a better-than-expected gross domestic product reading from the Office for National Statistics.The FTSE 100 index was up 66.70 points, 0.8%, at 8,448.05, after hitting a record high 8,455.77 earlier. The FTSE 250 was up 163.86 points, 0.8%, at 20,695.16, and the AIM All-Share was up 5.05 poi

The journey of online clothing retailer ASOS (ASC) on the stock market has been a pretty extraordinary one. It started life as a penny stock on AIM ? when Shares first covered the story in 2003 it traded at 4.5p.Within a little less than five years the share price had reached more than £4, by 2014 it had hit £70 and, after another retreat, at its 2018 height it traded close to £80. Even its pan

First quarter sales and profit beat expectationsStrategy update scheduled for 21 MayFull year outlook confirmedShares in AstraZeneca (AZN) surged 5% to £119.3 closing in on a new 52-week high after first quarter revenue and earnings eclipsed market expectations and the pharmaceutical company reiterated full year guidance.After a few months of consolidation, the shares are back to winning ways and

Ultimate Products (ULTP) 156pMarket cap: £142.9 millionStrong brands, a resilient business model and multiple growth opportunities ahead are among the investment attractions the market is missing at Ultimate Products (ULTP). This company is the owner of homeware brands including Salter and Beldray. The Oldham-headquartered firm is well placed to profit with UK and international retailers starting

Weak first-half sales priced inProfit seen ?significantly? higher New finance director appointedShares in ASOS (ASC) rallied 10% to 366.2p in early dealings after the online fast-fashion retailer maintained its full-year 2024 guidance and flagged progress in shifting its mountain of excess stock as chief executive Jose Calamonte?s turnaround plan gains traction.Nevertheless, the retailer?s transit

London?s FTSE 100 ended Tuesday morning how it started it, barely budging in cautious trade ahead of Wednesday?s US inflation report.Miners were on the up, as were oil majors, though that still could not lift the FTSE 100 into the green. Heavyweights such as drugmaker GSK, down 0.5% and defence firm BAE Systems, sliding 4.2%, were among those holding back London?s blue-chip benchmark.The FTSE 100

London?s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday morning, despite doubts over the timing of US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts still lingering, while gold reached another record high.The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.52 points, 0.2%, at 7,955.96. The FTSE 250 was up 34.02 points, 0.2%, at 19,787.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.82 of a point, 0.1%, at 742.90.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 795.53, the Cboe UK

Q4 sales return to growthFull year pre-tax profit to be at least top of rangeMedium-term margin guidance of 4%AO World (AO.) was one of the top FTSE 250 gainers rising as much as 13% after the online electricals retailer said it expects full year adjusted pre-tax profit to at least meet the top end of the guidance range.In November 2023, AO World upped pre-tax profit guidance from around £28 mill

Boohoo, ASOS, George didn?t break lawRelief as legal action avoidedFashion trio pledge to use ?accurate and clear? claimsShares in Boohoo (BOO:AIM) ticked up 1.8% to 36p in early dealings on Wednesday after the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) concluded the online fast fashion retailer, and rivals ASOS (ASC) and George at Asda, hadn?t breached consumer protection law with their green claims.I

H1 revenue down 18%Free cash flow improvedCEO sees a ?faster and more agile? ASOSSales at struggling online fast fashion retailer ASOS (ASC) remain in freefall, having plunged by 18% in the first half to 3 March 2024 amid intense competition and the ongoing squeeze on fashionistas? purchasing power and as ASOS focused on reducing stock levels to boost profitability.So why did shares in the fallen

Full year revenue up 13% to £206.4 million£450 million special dividend expectedShares up 18% over the past yearShares in Ascential (ASCL) were up nearly 3% to 307p in morning trading as the events outfit and information provider reported a 13% rise in revenue to £206.4 million for the year ending 31 December.Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation) was

It seems wherever you look at the moment, the economic data is coming in hotter than the market expects.Take US producer prices for February, which last week rose by 0.6% on the previous month, or double the consensus forecast, due to a surge in energy prices which in turn drove a larger-than-estimated increase in the price of goods. Economists were quick to ascribe the rise to difficulties in adj

Full-year results from Greggs (GRG) on 5 March painted a picture of a company doing so well in its domestic territory that one has to ask when it might export the successful business model abroad.Greggs? profits and market share are growing, it is investing in manufacturing and distribution expansion, and shareholders are getting a special dividend. While the company is confident it can add at lea

Stock prices in London were in the red at midday Friday, though StanChart rose, as buoyant mood in stocks following Nvidia?s earnings began to falter.At midday, the FTSE 100 index was down slightly, 1.05 points, at 7,683.44. The FTSE 250 was down 78.99 points, 0.4%, at 19,184.51, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.34 points, 0.2%, at 748.62.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 769.23, the Cboe UK 250 wa

Frasers increases stake to 8.9%Sports Direct-owner a ?strategic shareholder?Opportunity to sell more products via GAME chainMike Ashley-controlled Frasers (FRAS) has shunted its way up the shareholder register at model trains-to-planes maker Hornby (HRN:AIM) as the deal-hungry conglomerate pounces on yet another retail name going through tough times.Shares in Hornby leapt 40.5% to 29.5p on news Fr

By his own admission, Nick Train, manager of Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), isn?t one for nostalgia, whether that is reflecting on past glories or the ?melancholy fact? as he puts it that the popular investment trust has underperformed the FTSE All-Share index for the last three years.Moving into 2024, the trust has again lagged the benchmark with a share price return of -1.9% in January against

New £80 million buybackJD Sports warning a recent overhangN Brown stake tops 20%Mike Ashley?s Frasers (FRAS) has launched a fresh £80 million share buyback to address a near-10% year-to-date share price pullback at the retail powerhouse behind sporting goods chain Sports Direct as well as House of Fraser and Flannels.Analysts at Liberum believe shares in the FTSE 100 conglomerate have suffered d

Burberry (BRBY) £12.94Market cap: £4.6 billionSlowing luxury demand and two profit warnings in three months have left Burberry (BRBY) firmly out of fashion with investors. Shares in the British luxury brand have lost around 50% and 30% of their value over one and five years respectively. Given the old stock market adage about profit warnings coming in threes, Shares concedes there is some dange

The retail sector accounts for £104 billion of the FTSE 350 index by value of its 22 constituents, making it of significant importance to the UK stock market and to any investor with exposure to UK equities.The fortunes of retailers can tell us about the state of the consumer and in turn provide clues on economic activity. Therefore, even if you do not have exposure to individual stocks in this s

HSBC MSCI China UCITS ETF USD (HMCH) Price: 419pFund size: £480 million China is one of the biggest contrarian calls for 2024, with tensions between the world?s second biggest economy and the West on the rise over issues including access to the latest technology and the fate of Taiwan which is pivotal to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. In addition, concerns over the populous Asia