Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday, ahead of the UK general election on Thursday and amid news that UK house prices grew in June. The CAC 40 in Paris was outperforming other major indices in Europe, amid news that the far right secured a lead in the first round of polling in France. The FTSE 100 index opened up 30.00 points, 0.4%, at 8,194.12. The FTSE 250 was up 120.42 points, 0.6%...

Some end of quarter nerves meant the FTSE 100 returned solid gains by the closing bell on Friday, despite a cooler US inflation reading spurring on stocks in New York. The FTSE 100 index ended 15.56 points lower, 0.2%, at 8,164.12. The FTSE 250 fell 45.77 points, 0.2%, at 20,286.03, while the AIM All-Share fell just 0.09 to 764.38. For the week, the FTSE 100 lost 0.9%, the FTSE 250 fell 0.8% an...

A rational person changes their mind when the facts change and that appears to be the case in the ongoing negotiations for a takeover of Keywords Studios (KWS:AIM) by Swedish private equity firm EQT. Having completed due diligence which revealed some short-term headwinds for the business, EQT revised down its possible cash offer from £25.50 to £24.30 on 27 June, upping it slightly to £24.50...

Blue chips were in demand at midday on Friday, ahead of a US inflation print later in the session, which is expected to show a softening of the core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge. The FTSE 100 index traded 46.01 points higher, 0.6%, at 8,225.69. The FTSE 250 rose 50.55 points, 0.3%, at 20,382.352, while the AIM All-Share climbed 1.52 points, 0.2%, at 765.99. The Cboe UK 100...

T Neil Morrison, non-executive director at life insurer Aviva (AV.) has bought 100,000 shares at 484p for a total value of £484,000 on 25 June. Over the past year Aviva shares have gained 23%. Morrison's move comes after the life insurer reported a strong set of results for the first quarter in May with 'robust' growth across its divisions. Aviva remains confident about meeting its targets in...

Nike (NKE:NYSE) continues to look flat footed after warning investors to expect its slowest sales growth since 2010, barring the pandemic. Out of hours trading data shows the stock plunging nearly 14% to around $80, not half 2021's near-$180 dollar peaks. It may be the world's biggest sportswear company but Nike is feeling the pinch as competition bites and sales in China and its US backyard f...

Investors have been playing a waiting game this week with all eyes on today's (28 Jun) US personal consumption price index, a key input in the Federal Reserve's 'data-driven' model which will tell it when it's safe to cut interest rates. A May figure of 2.6% or lower, against April's 2.8% print, and the market will be off to the races, although as Fed chair Jay Powell has said many times before...

London's FTSE 100 made a decent start to the final trading day of the quarter, and cooler-than-expected US data could offer it impetus for further gains. The blue-chip benchmark in Paris struggled, however, as pre-election nerves kicked in. The US data is released at 1330 BST. The core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge is expected to have faded to 2.6% in May, from 2.8% in April...

With investors biding time until Friday's US Federal Reserve preferred inflation gauge, shares in London mostly fell on Thursday. Thursday also marks a week until the UK heads to the polls. Two opinion polls published in the past 24 hours see Labour taking the lead, with Conservatives taking second place and Reform coming in third. Amongst individual stocks, DS Smith shot up, but failed to take...

Shares in GSK (GSK) were marked down 5% to £15.16 after the US CDC (Centre for Disease Control) advised a narrower use of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccines, cutting the potential market for GSK's leading Arexvy vaccine. The drop eradicates most the year's gains leaving the shares up 3% compared with a 6% gain in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. CDC CAUTIOUS ON RSV VACCINE USE The CDC's a...

Stocks in London headed lower going into Thursday afternoon, with investors adopting a 'cautious' approach ahead of Friday's US inflation data. The FTSE 100 index traded 23.26 points lower, 0.3%, at 8,202.07. The FTSE 250 fell just 7.08 points at 20,291.02, while the AIM All-Share fell 3.08 points, 0.4%, at 762.84. The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.3% to 815.91, the Cboe UK 250 lost 0.1% at 17,654.85, and...

Shares in Moonpig (MOON) were up nearly 9% to 173p in morning trading after the online greeting cards-to-gifting platform reported a 5% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to £58.2 million for the year ended 30 April 2024. The company delivered revenue growth of 6.6% to £341.1 million 'driven by strong performance of the Moonpig brand'. The FTSE 250 firm remains strongly cash generative, with ope...

Investors in Serco (SRP) received a pleasant surprise as the business services group revealed first-half profits were 'ahead of plan' and full-year profits, free cash flow and leverage would all be better than previously expected. The shares, which had drifted off their highs in the last couple of months, tacked on 12p or 7% to 185p. RAISING GUIDANCE For the first six months of this year the fi...