UK water firms had their gains pulled back by Friday's close following yesterday's Ofwat induced bump, as Trump threatened the EU with tariff's if it failed to address its trading deficit. The FTSE 100 index closed down 12.67 points, 0.2%, at 8,092.65. The FTSE 250 ended up 31.24 points, 0.2%, at 20,430.62, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.1, or 0.73 of a point, at 711.05. The Cboe UK 100 en...

Danish diabetes and obesity drug specialist Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B:CPH) gave investors a nasty surprise on Friday (20 Dec) after revealing its next generation obesity treatment CagriSema fell short of inducing significantly more weight loss than rival Mounjaro made by Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE), sending the shares spiraling down by more than 20%, wiping out more than £70 billion of market value. The f...

UK stocks were down at midday in London on Friday as concerns about the state of the economy persisted off the back of sluggish retail sales figures. In Europe, pharmaceuticals heavyweight Novo Nordisk plummeted 18% in Copenhagen after disappointing data for its weight loss drug CagriSema. The product is seen as a rival to Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound obesity treatments. In premarket tradi...

Following an initial bounce in after-hours trading on Wall Street stoked by better-than-feared second-quarter results (19 December), Nike's (NKE:NYSE) shares stumbled to trade roughly flat on the realisation the sportswear firm's turnaround will take longer than expected. There was also disappointment as the athletic apparel titan, seeking to arrest market share losses amid intensifying competi...

Short-selling, or borrowing shares to sell in the hope of buying them back at a lower price, is not something most retail investors have the nerve or the skill-set to pull off as it requires a certain mindset and a willingness to tolerate heavy losses on occasion until your bets come right. For the pros, however, this has been a good year - as Barry Norris, manager of the VT Argonaut Absolute R...

The US market lost its recent momentum in a big way this past week as shares collapsed on the 18 December with the S&P 500 enduring its worst day since 2001. The trigger for the sell-off was a hawkish tone from the US Federal Reserve even as it announced its latest interest rate cut. With officials signaling growing concern over the threat posed by inflation, the market moved quickly to reset b...

Stocks in London opened in the red on Friday morning, ahead of the US personal consumption expenditures release and Frasers founder Mike Ashley making a bid for boohoo leadership. UK retail sales volumes rose by 0.2% month-on-month in November, the Office for National Statistics said, improving from a 0.7% fall in October but falling short of the FXStreet-cited market consensus of 0.5% growth....

UK equities suffered on US exposure as they closed lower on Thursday amid the Bank of England holding interest rates, but warning of 'heightened uncertainty'. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pleaded for patience over his drive to improve living standards, warning it 'will take some time' for people to feel the benefits. Starmer hopes changes to planning rules, reforms to regulations and the use...

UK indices remained in the red at midday on Thursday but with water companies bucking the trend following UK regulator Ofwat green lighting a substantial industry investment package. Interest rate calls on either side of the Atlantic dominated events with the Bank of England leaving rates unchanged, after a 'hawkish' cut by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The BoE's Monetary Policy Committe...

The latest AJ Bell Dividend Dashboard report shows FTSE 100 constituents are on course to pay £78.5 billion in ordinary dividends this year. That figure is almost flat on 2023 and well below the all-time high of £85.2 billion recorded in 2018, although analysts are penciling in a 6.5% increase to £83.6 million in 2025 FTSE 100 firms have unveiled plans for £56.5 billion in share buybacks in...

Missing forecasts seldom goes down well with investors and soggy guidance is usually equally unsavoury to markets, so it comes as little surprise that Micron Technology's (MU:NASDAQ) soft outlook sparked a hefty stock reaction. Shares in the memory chipmaker plunged 15% overnight after steering second quarter 2025 earnings and revenue guidance way below existing consensus. The company forecast...

Yet another unloved UK company has agreed to a takeover by an overseas buyer, further deleting the ranks of firms listed on the London stock market. The latest name to throw in the towel is Intelligent Ultrasound (IUG:AIM), an ultrasound AI software and simulation minnow which has recommended a £45 million takeover by Surgical Science Sweden (SUS:STO), news that sent the shares up 15% to 12.75...

On an off-day for markets, with the FTSE 100 and the All-Share down 1%, facilities management group Serco (SRP) was a rare bright spot following its year-end trading update. The shares gained 8p or 6% to 147p, erasing much of their losses over the last month and indeed year-to-date. SOLID 2024 PERFORMANCE The group, which provides support services to governments around the world in the defence,...