European stocks were down heading into Thursday afternoon, as post-budget trade in the UK was characterised by stretching bond yields and largely weaker equities. The prospect of higher for longer UK interest rates as a result supported lenders, but hit retail and housebuilding shares. US stocks are called to open lower, in the aftermath of earnings from Meta and Microsoft, and ahead of US data...

Shares in Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) fell over 4% to $566 in pre-market trading despite the US tech giant beating Wall Street expectations as revenue increased 19% to $40.59 billion for the three months ending 30 September. Net income grew 35% to $15.7 billion from $11.6 billion a year earlier, equating to EPS (earnings per share) of $6.03 versus consensus forecasts of $5.25. H...

Smith & Nephew (SN.) sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index, falling 13% to a new six-month low of 956.78p after the knee and hip implants maker lowered full-year revenue growth guidance on China headwinds. The shares are down around 11% for the year, compared with a 5% gain for the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. CEO Deepak Nath commented: 'While the revised outlook reflects the headwinds across o...

Shares in Shell (SHEL) ticked up 1% to £25.15 after the energy giant delivered better-than-expected third-quarter results as headwinds from lower oil prices and weaker refining margins were partially offset by higher gas sales. There was also relief as the oil major reported a quarter-on-quarter decrease in net debt from $38.3 billion (£29.5 billion) to $35.2 billion, held the dividend at 34...

Equities in London were lower on Thursday morning, UK bond yields spiked and the pound was around the $1.30 mark as investor digest Wednesday's budget announcement. Early UK corporate updates were mixed. Shell and Coca-Cola HBC impressed, but Smith & Nephew and Kainos were among those to disappoint. Those reports followed earnings from New York-listed Meta and Microsoft overnight, which similar...

Shares ended mixed in London on Wednesday as the UK government delivered its long-awaited tax plan, which though a 'difficult choice,' was largely in line with investor expectations. The FTSE 100 index closed down 59.98 points, or 0.7%, at 8,159.63. The FTSE 250 ended up 71.33 points, or 0.4%, at 20,694.12, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.0%, or 28.82 points, at 744.61. The Cboe UK 100 ended...

In terms of lowering expectations among the business community, the Labour party did a good job heading into today's autumn statement by letting slip potentially negative information such as the intention to raise employers' NI (National Insurance) contributions and a hike in the minimum wage. The everyday 'working person', on the other hand, has been primed to expect taxes via the back door in...

Stock prices in London were mixed just before the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with the FTSE 100 lower and the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share registering a minor gain. The FTSE 100 index traded down 42.68 points, 0.5%, at 8,176.93. The FTSE 250 was up just 3.96 points at 20,626.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.77. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at...

Retail star turn Next (NXT) has raised its year-to-January 2025 profit guidance for the third time in three months after this year's early arrival of cold weather boosted its third quarter sales. Shares in the FTSE 100 company ticked up 1.5% to £102 as the fashion giant upgraded its full-year pre-tax profit guidance from £995 million to what will be a record £1 billion and see the retail bel...

Disappointing vaccine sales took the shine off GSK's (GSK) third quarter update and despite management reiterating full-year sales and profit guidance, the shares sank to the bottom of the FTSE, falling 3.6% to £13.99. The shares languish near one-year lows and sit just 14% above the five-year low, which means they are down by around a fifth since 2019, underperforming the blue-chip FTSE posit...

Stocks in Europe were mostly lower on Wednesday morning, ahead of the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, while Standard Chartered rose after it said it delivered a strong performance. Ahead of the budget, the pound was quoted at $1.3020 early Wednesday, rising from $1.2991 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Brown Brothers Harriman analysts believe the pound faces 'downsid...

Out of the mega tech blocks first - excluding Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) - Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) calmed nerves on Wall Street after-hours Tuesday (29 Oct) with a sharp acceleration in Google Cloud's third-quarter growth rate, while election spending also boosted advertisement sales, especially on YouTube. Going from the second quarter's 29% to 35% was no mean feat with the firm's chief executive Sun...

Stocks in London ended Tuesday in the red, weighed down by some pre-budget uncertainty, while indices on Wall Street were mixed following US economic data, ahead of earnings from Alphabet. The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.01 points, or 0.8%, at 8,219.61. The FTSE 250 ended down 212.31 points, or 1.0%, at 20,622.79, and the AIM All-Share closed down 5.31 points, or 0.7%, at 715.79. The Cboe UK...