Stock prices were mixed on Thursday midday in London, while water companies rose after Ofwat decided to raise tap water price caps for customers in England and Wales. The FTSE 100 index was up 20.09 points, 0.3%, at 8,213.60. The FTSE 250 was down 5.06 points at 20,922.70, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.69 points, 0.5%, at 776.54. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 818.70, the Cboe UK 250 was flat...

Shares in Jet2 (JET2:AIM) were up over 1% in morning trading at £13.08 as the airline and package holidays provider reported a 43% jump in pre-tax profit to £529.5 million for the year ending 31 March 2024. Total revenue was up 24% to £6.25 billion compared to £5.03 billion last year. The airline and package holidays provider attributed the gain to the popularity of their holiday products w...

Sometimes it is better to travel than arrive and that seems to be the case for online review platform Trustpilot (TRST) after the shares sank almost 7% despite the firm notching up 19% growth in first-half bookings to $118 million. The shares have been on a tear this year gaining 58% making them one of the best performers in the mid-cap FTSE 250 index. Over the last 12 months the shares top the...

Having lagged the market all this year, water utilities were the star turn following an announcement from the regulator Ofwat that the firms could raise their bills over the next five years. In the FTSE 100, Severn Trent (SVT) gained 66p or 2.5% to £26.85 and United Utilities (UU.) added 25p or 2.3% to £10.91 taking both stocks into positive territory for the year, albeit marginally. In the F...

Stock prices in London were mixed on Thursday morning while water companies enjoyed a boost from Ofwat announcing an increase in water prices for customers in England and Wales. The FTSE 100 index opened up 13.36 points, 0.2%, at 8,206.87. The FTSE 250 was down just 0.88 of a point at 20,926.88, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.30 points, 0.4%, at 776.15. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 818.38, th...

Share prices in London closed up on Wednesday as New York climbed midday, following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony and ahead of key US inflation data on Thursday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 53.70 points, 0.7%, at 8,193.51. The FTSE 250 ended up 282.74 points, 1.4%, at 20,927.76, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.91 of a point, 0.1%, at 772.85. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.7% at 816.35, the...

Markets in Europe showed signs of recovery on Wednesday at around midday, with investors pleased that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kept hopes of a rate cut for this year alive. Speaking in Congress, Powell told lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee that the most recent readings 'have shown some modest further progress' since the first quarter of the year. Investors are now looking ah...

Shares in JD Wetherspoon (JDW) were little changed in morning trading at 766p as the pub group said like-for-like sales increased by 5.8% in the 10 weeks to 7 July compared to the same period last year. Chairman Tim Martin said the gradual post-pandemic recovery was achieved with fewer pubs, however, costs for the pub group remain an issue. 'For example, compared to the 2019 financial year, lab...

Shares in SSP (SSPG) topped the FTSE 250 leader board on Wednesday (10 Jul), surging 13% higher to 176.5p after the food travel expert served up news of strong third quarter sales and reiterated its full year earnings guidance. The owner of brands including Upper Crust and Le Grand Comptoir also called out increasing demand for leisure travel and insisted it is 'well-positioned' for the peak su...

Low-cost gym operator GYM Group (GYM) said it expected to deliver results for the year to 31 December at the top end of market forecasts after a positive first half which saw revenue grow by 12% to £112.1 million. Investors welcomed the positive pre-close trading update, marking the shares 6% higher to a new 12-month high of 130.2p, taking gains for the year to 26%, comfortably ahead of the 6%...

Stock prices usually rise when a company raises its earnings guidance, but in the case of housebuilder Barratt Developments (BDEV) the market looked straight past the upgrade to focus on the outlook and didn't particularly like what it saw in terms of home completions. The shares fell 13p or 2.7% to 478p, undoing most of the gains of the last few days as the housebuilding sector rallied on hope...

London's blue chip index outperformed its European counterparts on Wednesday morning, as investors eagerly await another testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The FTSE 100 index opened up 16.62 points, 0.2%, at 8,156.43. The FTSE 250 was up 50.64 points, 0.3%, at 20,695.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.15 points, 0.2%, at 773.09. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 813.09, the Cboe U...