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...

Stock prices in Europe ended lower on Tuesday, with fears of a French political impasse keeping optimism at bay, while a lack of an obvious dovish tilt to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell meant there was no bullish impetus added to late dealings. The central banker said he would like to see 'more' favourable data before the federal funds rate target range is cut. Whether that come...

European stock prices were in the red on Tuesday afternoon, as the political deadlock in France continued following the election. Amongst individual stocks, BP took a hit on the FTSE 100 index after warning of a hit to refining margins. The FTSE 100 index was down 6.21 points, 0.1%, at 8,187.28. The FTSE 250 was down 15.55 points, 0.1%, at 20,782.77, and the AIM All-Share was down just 0.070 of...

Shares in Indivior (INDV) sank more than 40% to 694.5p after the opioid addiction treatment company issued a full year profit warning and announced 130 job cuts related to the discontinuation of its schizophrenia drug Perseris. The shares have been highly volatile in recent years. Over the last 12-months they are down around 60% but the shares remain roughly three times higher than where they t...

BP (BP.) shares slid 3.6% to 457.6p on Tuesday after the energy producer warned it would book impairments of up to $2 billion in the second quarter of 2024 arising from plans to scale back refining operations in Germany which have been hit by rising energy costs and weakening demand. In a teaser ahead of second quarter results on 30 July, the oil supermajor said it expects an adverse impact fro...

FTSE 250 firm PageGroup (PAGE) sent the European staffing sector lower across the board after warning soft trading in the second quarter meant full-year profits would be below expectations. PageGroup shares fell as much as 60p, or 15%, to a 12-month low of 360p before recovering to trade down around 6% at 396p. Industry peers failed to escape the negative read across, with Hays (HAS) falling 4%...

Stocks in London opened mixed on Tuesday ahead of the testimony by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while BP and Shell fell as BP expects a $2 billion impairment charge. The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.23 points, 0.2%, at 8,211.72. The FTSE 250 was down 16.05 points, 0.1%, at 20,782.27, and the AIM All-Share was down just 0.20 of a point at 774.96. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 818.02,...

Stocks in Europe failed to hold early gains on Monday, closing lower, as investors assessed the implications of an expected political gridlock in France. The FTSE 100 index ended down 10.44 points, 0.1%, at 8,193.49. The FTSE 250 rose 11.67 points, 0.1%, at 20,798.32, and the AIM All-Share edged up 0.77 of a point, 0.1%, to 775.16. The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 816.60, the Cboe UK 250 closed...

Shares in Ocado (OCDO) were up nearly 6% to 346p as the online grocery retailer said it planned to build a third CFC (customer fulfilment centre) in Kuki-Miyashiro prefecture in Japan. The new CFC will go live in 2027 and will be developed with hypermarket group AEON (8267:TYO). SIGN OF CONFIDENCE Ocado entered an exclusive partnership with AEON in 2019 to develop the online operations of the...

Stocks in Europe were in positive territory early Monday afternoon, as investors weighed up political developments in the UK, France and the US. The UK is entering its first full week with a Labour government, after winning Thursday's general election. Across the channel, France is contending with uncertainty and the prospect of a hung parliament. The FTSE 100 index was up 14.85 points, 0.2%, a...

It was drinks all round for Marston's (MARS) after the pub and hotel group announced the sale of its remaining 40% stake in the Carlsberg Marston's Brewing joint venture back to Danish brewer Carlsberg (CARL-B:CPH) for £206 million in cash. The shares jumped as much as 18% to 37p, close to the highs for the year, while Carlsberg's shares traded 3% higher as the brewer also sweetened its offer...