London's FTSE 100 closed higher on Tuesday in a shortened trading day, securing the strongest annual gain for the index in three years. Advances in New York this year towered over the UK blue-chip index, however. The FTSE 250 registered an even weaker annual gain and the AIM All-Share shrunk over the course of 2024. The FTSE 100 index ended up 52.01 points, 0.6%, at 8,173.02. It is up 5.7% for...

Humans generally feel more comfortable in groups which partly explains why stock prices often move in broad trends: knowing other investors and analysts have come to the same conclusion about a company breeds confidence in the investment case, whether or not it turns out to be correct. A rarer breed of investor prefers to stand alone and deliberately take a contrarian view, opposite to the crow...

Shares in Wizz Air (WIZZ) gained around 2% to £14.44 in morning trading as investors welcomed the European budget carrier's support agreement with engine maker Pratt & Whitney in relation to its grounded aircraft. As well as giving operational support, Pratt & Whitney - which is part of US defence group RTX Corp (RTX:NYSE) - will pay Wizz compensation 'covering the company's direct costs assoc...

Analysts at Wedbush believe 2025 will be a year of significant growth for the software sector as the AI (artificial intelligence) revolution begins a new phase fuelled by enterprise adoption of generative AI and machine learning large language models. The Wedbush team, led by managing director and senior equity research analyst Dan Ives, highlighted the transformative potential of AI-driven app...

The FTSE 100 opened in the red on Tuesday morning, as the shortened final day of trading for the year kicked off with some trepidation. Stocks in New York struggled on Monday, trade in Asian equities was unconvincing, and the nerves fed through to Europe on New Year's Eve. The FTSE 100 index opened down 8.35 points, 0.1%, at 8,112.66. It is up 5.0% for the year. The FTSE 250 was up just 9.64 po...

Equities in Europe declined on Monday, in holiday-thinned trade, while declines in New York were more dramatic, with tech stocks bearing the brunt. The FTSE 100 index ended down 28.77 points, 0.4%, at 8,121.01. The FTSE 250 shed 84.10 points, 0.4%, at 20,404.55, and the AIM All-Share lost 0.89 of a point, 0.1%, at 714.23. The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 814.55, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.4% at 1...

The week before Christmas was a busy one for the boards of several UK firms as they offloaded shares ahead of the holidays. At defence contractor Chemring (CHG), chief executive Michael Ord and two other directors sold a total of 274,000 shares at 315p each on 18 December raising just shy of £800,000 between them. The shares were all part of previous awards which vested in December 2024 and th...

Stocks in London remained in the red at midday on Monday, trimming a year-to-date gain which already fell short of loftier progress in US stocks. The FTSE 100 index traded down 15.85 points, 0.2%, at 8,133.93. The FTSE 250 was down 62.74 points, 0.3%, at 20,425.91, and the AIM All-Share was up just 0.34 of a point at 715.53. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 815.90, the Cboe UK 250 down 0.2% at...

As we enter the final trading days of 2024 and tot up how our personal investments have done over the course of the year, analysts at CMC Markets (CMCX) have been looking at how the 'gurus' such as Warren Buffett have fared ahead of the release of their year-end 13-F filings. For the record, every US-domiciled fund with more than $100 million of assets has to file a 13-F report each quarter as...

Stocks in London were subdued on Monday morning, with only a few of the FTSE 100 opening in the green on the last full day of trading in 2024. The FTSE 100 index opened down 29.94 points, 0.4%, at 8,119.84. The FTSE 250 was down 54.73 points, 0.3%, at 20,433.92, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.90 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.09. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 814.35, the Cboe UK 250 down 0.2% at 1...

London's FTSE 100 ended higher in quiet trade on Friday, though gains were more convincing in mainland Europe, shaking off declines in New York. The FTSE 100 index added 12.79 points, 0.2%, at 8,149.78. The FTSE 250 fell 82.86 points, 0.4%, at 20,488.65, and the AIM All-Share ended down 2.21 points, 0.3%, at 715.19. The Cboe UK 100 ended higher at 816.42, the Cboe UK 250 lost 0.5% at 17,930.53,...

London stocks traded mixed on Friday, while market participants digested US jobless claims data suggesting resilience in the American economy and kept one eye on data releases due out in the afternoon. The FTSE 100 index was marginally higher, by 0.040 points, at 8,137.03. The FTSE 250 was down 70.18 points, 0.3%, at 20,501.33, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.22 points at 717.18. The Cboe UK 1...

Share prices in London started lower on Friday after the two-day Christmas break, as investors dissected initial readings on the strength of holiday sales and the weekly reading on US employment. Out on Boxing Day, US seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims were 219,000 in the week that ended this past Saturday, down 1,000 from the previously week's unrevised total of 220,000, the US Departm...