Bunzl (BNZL) shares bounced 9.3% to an all-time high of £35.12 after the resilient distribution and services giant delivered another full year profit guidance upgrade driven by acquisitions and an improved first half margin performance. Drawing confidence from the strength of its balance sheet, the FTSE 100 firm also announced a £250 million share buyback programme to be completed by next Mar...

Stock prices in Europe opened in the green on Tuesday, after data showed UK shop prices in August entered deflation for the first time since 2021, ahead of a key speech by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The FTSE 100 index opened up 48.39 points, or 0.6%, at 8,376.17. The FTSE 250 was up 31.41 points, or 0.2%, at 21,220.89, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.63 points, or 0.1%, at 778.32. The Cboe UK...

Stocks in London ended the week higher on Friday, while unambiguously dovish remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell propelled the pound to a 29-month high against the dollar. 'The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,' Powell said in a s...

European stocks were higher going into Friday afternoon, as investors focused on potential clues about future monetary policy from both sides of the Atlantic. The Jackson Hole meeting will see both Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speak on Friday. In other news, energy bills are set to increase by almost £150 after Ofgem raised its price cap, i...

Shares in Nestle (NESN:SWX) cheapened 2.5% to CHF 87.3 on Friday as investors digested news of the abrupt departure of Mark Schneider, who is being replaced as CEO of the world's biggest packaged food company by Laurent Freixe following eight years in the hot seat. The Swiss multinational enjoyed a boom during Covid lockdowns as shoppers bought its food and drinks to consumer at home, but the K...

Online betting and gaming company Evoke (EVOK), formerly known as 888 Holdings, has announced the acquisition of Romanian firm NGS (Net Gaming Solutions), the seventh biggest betting and gaming operator in the country. Evoke will inject its own Romanian business plus €10 million in cash in exchange for a 51% share of the enlarged business which will become the fourth biggest operator with a c...

It was a week of ups and downs for the US market as investors awaited Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's address to the Jackson Hole Symposium on 23 August. Overall most indices were trading pretty much flat by close on Thursday and any volatility paled into insignificance compared with the wild swings in markets seen at the beginning of the month. Outside of the S&P 500, high-tech exercise...

European stocks were in the green on Friday morning, as regulator Ofgem reported it will increase the energy price cap in Great Britain, pushing up average household bills by 9.5% from October. 'Just when temperatures begin to plummet and nights draw in, households will be faced with the exact scenario they'd hoped was behind them,' warned AJ Bell's Danni Hewson. Meanwhile, eyes remained on the...

Stocks in Europe made little headway on Thursday, as all eyes remained on the Jackson Hole symposium, where the market will hear from central bankers including US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The FTSE 100 index closed up 4.57 points, 0.1%, at 8,288.00. The FTSE 250 ended down 82.49 points, 0.4%, at 21,104.70, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.08 points, 0.3%, at 774.73. The Cboe UK 10...

Stock prices were higher in London, Paris and Frankfurt on Thursday, while the UK got a boost in a flash purchasing managers' index reading, ahead of weekly US jobless data. The FTSE 100 index was up 11.79 points, 0.1%, at 8,295.22. The FTSE 250 was down 18.70 points, 0.1%, at 21,168.49, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.54 points, 0.1%, at 776.27. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 829.44, the Cboe...

Shares in JD Sports Fashion (JD.) jumped 6% to 136p after the trainers-to-tracksuits purveyor reported improved second quarter sales and reiterated full year guidance for 6% to 9% organic growth and adjusted pre-tax profit in the £955 million to £1.035 billion range. This came as a relief to investors given the tougher, more promotional market for clothing and footwear that triggered a New Ye...

The US BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) failed to post revisions to the monthly payroll figures at the allotted 10am New York time yesterday causing confusion among economists, many of whom had to call the department directly to get the number. A spokesperson for the BLS said: 'The integrity of our data releases is BLS's top priority and we are closely reviewing our procedures to ensure this do...

Outsourcing and facilities management group Serco (SRP) scored another win with the US military in the form of a four-year contract to modernise a space base 750 miles inside the Arctic Circle for a cool $320 million. The shares, which fell sharply at the start of August after the firm posted a drop in first-half sales and earnings, continued their come-back with a gain of 1.8p or 1% to 175p. M...