London stocks closed higher on Tuesday's shortened trading day, buoyed by gains in the retail and mining sectors, while Windward surged 42% following a takeover bid from FTV VIII LP. The FTSE 100 index closed up 34.27 points, 0.4%, at 8,136.99. The FTSE 250 ended up 152.42 points, 0.8%, at 20,571.51, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.96 points, 0.7%, at 717.40. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at...

Many have sounded the death knell for the UK high street, notably during the Covid crisis as retail trends shifted towards online shopping. Yet, the high street has endured amid the consumer's persistent demand for physical retail. And despite many high street stocks successfully adapting to this evolving retail market, valuations remain depressed, presenting a value opportunity for some UK fun...

Stocks in London opened in the green on Tuesday morning but not everyone is feeling the Christmas spirit, with Vistry issuing a profit warning. The FTSE 100 index opened up 21.00 points, 0.3%, at 8,123.72. The FTSE 250 was up 57.64 points, 0.3%, at 20,476.73, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.11 points, 0.4%, at 715.55. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 815.18, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,932.6...

A mixed close for London equities on Monday highlighted increasing concerns about the UK economy, with businesses bracing for a sharp slowdown and consumer confidence sliding further. The FTSE 100 index closed up 18.11 points, 0.2%, at 8,102.72. The FTSE 250 ended down 31.60 points, 0.2%, at 20,419.09, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.84 points, 0.3%, at 712.44. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% a...

The FTSE 100 in London edged into the green on Monday at midday despite a downcast morning of economic data announcements. In London, the FTSE 100 index was up 10.02 points, 0.1%, at 8,095.11. The FTSE 250 was down 49.10 points, 0.2%, at 20,401.59, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.87 of a point, 0.1%, at 711.47. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 812.51, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 17,888.41, an...

Microchip industry sales are set to rise by 15% in 2025, believes Bank of America, hitting $725 billion. No prizes for guessing that Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) is a predicted winner. 'We see 2025 as a year of two different trends. In the first half, AI investments and Nvidia Blackwell deployments driven by US cloud customers sustain momentum in AI semis,' analysts led by Vivek Arya wrote in a note. B...

US activist investor Trian Fund Management, a vehicle controlled by billionaire Nelson Peltz, significantly raised its stake in UK pest control and hygiene business Rentokil Initial (RTO) earlier this month shortly after securing a board spot for its head of research. According to company filings, Trian bought 7,500,000 shares at a price of 413.4p on 11 December 2024 for a total of £31 million...

Stocks in London opened in the red on Monday amid unwelcome domestic GDP and consumer sentiment releases, and in good news for Direct Line Insurance as Aviva finalises its cash offer. British shoppers expect a 'January spending squeeze' according to the British Retail Consortium. The personal financial situation index remained in negative territory, though steady, at minus 3 points. However, th...

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...