Stock prices in London opened mostly lower on Friday morning as China posted its slowest growth in a year and a half, while UK retail sales performed better than expected last month. The FTSE 100 index opened down 28.63 points, or 0.3%, at 8,356.50. The FTSE 250 was down 37.28 points, or 0.2%, at 21,063.64, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.39 points, or 0.2%, at 743.78. London's FTSE 100 had hit...

European markets were lifted on Thursday as the European Central Bank enacted its second consecutive rate cut following cool inflation prints from the eurozone. The FTSE 100 index closed up 56.06 points, or 0.7%, at 8,385.13. The FTSE 250 ended up 121.42 points, or 0.6%, at 21,100.92, while the AIM All-Share closed up 2.96 points, 0.4%, at 742.39. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.7% at 840.03, the Cb...

Stock prices in Europe were higher at Thursday midday, after data showed that annual consumer price inflation in the eurozone decelerated more than expected in September, ahead of the European Central Bank announcing its next interest rate decision, with a cut expected. The FTSE 100 index was up 26.95 points, 0.3%, at 8,355.94. The FTSE 250 was up 106.07 points, or 0.5%, at 21,085.57, and the A...

Global gambling and gaming group Entain (ENT) lifted its full-year profit forecast after confirming the positive trading momentum highlighted on 9 September has continued through to the end of the third quarter, including the UK and Ireland getting back to year-on-year growth earlier than expected. The news gave investors a temporary respite from swirling activists and reports of a potential ta...

Online clothing and homewares retailer N Brown (BWNG:AIM) is set to become the latest UK stock to be taken private after receiving and recommending a £191 million takeover bid from a group controlled by non-executive director Joshua Alliance, a member of the family which originally built the company. Shares in the JD Williams-to-Jacamo brand owner, which has had a rough ride on the stock marke...

Looking through the third-quarter update from pest control and hygiene group Rentokil Initial (RTO) there was little to write home about, but the lack of further downgrades combined with the fact the stock price was at multi-year lows probably explains today's positive market reaction. The shares opened up 34p or almost 10% at 375p before settling at 368p for a gain of around 8%, making them th...

Stock prices in Europe were lower on Thursday morning, ahead of an interest rate decision from the European Central Bank and weekly jobless data from the US. The FTSE 100 index was down 5.63 points, or 0.1%, at 8,323.44. The FTSE 250 was down 16.90 points, or 0.1%, at 20,962.60, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.56 points, or 0.2%, at 740.99. The Cboe UK 100 was slightly lower at 834.39, the Cboe...

London's FTSE 100 jumped on Wednesday, massively outperforming European peers, as a deceleration in UK inflation pushed equities higher, but sent the pound hurtling below the $1.30 mark. The FTSE 100 index closed up 79.79 points, or 1.0%, at 8,329.07. The FTSE 250 ended up 185.06 points, or 0.9%, at 20,979.50, while the AIM All-Share closed up 5.57 points, 0.8%, at 739.43. The Cboe UK 100 ended...

London's blue chip index was in the green while its European peers were in the red, following better-than-expected consumer price index inflation data, with on-year CPI falling below the 2% target in September. The FTSE 100 index was up 46.02 points, or 0.6%, at 8,295.30. The FTSE 250 was up 95.54 points, or 0.5%, at 20,889.98, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.34 points, or 0.2%, at 735.20. The C...

Paris-based LVMH (MC:EPA), the luxury group which includes fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Givenchy, Christian Dior and Bulgari, not to mention champagne brands Moet Hennessy and Veuve Clicquot, stunned the market with third-quarter revenue which missed estimates due to a slowdown in demand, due mainly to China. The shares, which not long ago were hitting all-time highs above €90...

Shares in Whitbread (WTB) were 5% higher at £32.24 in morning trading despite the Premier Inn-owner reporting a 22% fall in pre-tax profit to £309 million and flat revenue of £1.5 billion for the 26 weeks to 29 August. The UK's leading hospitality and hotel group said its results reflected a 'slightly softer UK demand environment.' Despite this, the company announced an increase in the inter...

Pension consulting and administration firm XPS Pensions (XPS) jumped 9% to a new all-time high of 334.4p after reporting strong first half revenue growth of 23% and raising full year guidance. The shares are up 99p or 42% so far in 2024 and 66% over the last 12 months after notching up another year of 20% revenue growth in the year to March 2024. XPS floated on the stock market in 2017 at 139p...

Fresh off of a record close on Monday (14 Oct), Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) stock fell sharply as part of a semiconductor chip stock slump after ASML's (ASML:AMS) droopy revenue warning. Losing 4.5% equates to a $145 billion wipe out for Nvidia. Other names like Arm Holdings (ARM:NASDAQ), Lam Research (LRCX:NASDAQ), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD:NASDAQ) and Broadcom (AVGO:NASDAQ) all suffered share pric...