Shares ended mixed in London on Wednesday as the UK government delivered its long-awaited tax plan, which though a 'difficult choice,' was largely in line with investor expectations. The FTSE 100 index closed down 59.98 points, or 0.7%, at 8,159.63. The FTSE 250 ended up 71.33 points, or 0.4%, at 20,694.12, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.0%, or 28.82 points, at 744.61. The Cboe UK 100 ended...

In terms of lowering expectations among the business community, the Labour party did a good job heading into today's autumn statement by letting slip potentially negative information such as the intention to raise employers' NI (National Insurance) contributions and a hike in the minimum wage. The everyday 'working person', on the other hand, has been primed to expect taxes via the back door in...

Stock prices in London were mixed just before the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with the FTSE 100 lower and the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share registering a minor gain. The FTSE 100 index traded down 42.68 points, 0.5%, at 8,176.93. The FTSE 250 was up just 3.96 points at 20,626.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.77. The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at...

Retail star turn Next (NXT) has raised its year-to-January 2025 profit guidance for the third time in three months after this year's early arrival of cold weather boosted its third quarter sales. Shares in the FTSE 100 company ticked up 1.5% to £102 as the fashion giant upgraded its full-year pre-tax profit guidance from £995 million to what will be a record £1 billion and see the retail bel...

Disappointing vaccine sales took the shine off GSK's (GSK) third quarter update and despite management reiterating full-year sales and profit guidance, the shares sank to the bottom of the FTSE, falling 3.6% to £13.99. The shares languish near one-year lows and sit just 14% above the five-year low, which means they are down by around a fifth since 2019, underperforming the blue-chip FTSE posit...

Stocks in Europe were mostly lower on Wednesday morning, ahead of the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, while Standard Chartered rose after it said it delivered a strong performance. Ahead of the budget, the pound was quoted at $1.3020 early Wednesday, rising from $1.2991 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Brown Brothers Harriman analysts believe the pound faces 'downsid...

Out of the mega tech blocks first - excluding Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) - Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) calmed nerves on Wall Street after-hours Tuesday (29 Oct) with a sharp acceleration in Google Cloud's third-quarter growth rate, while election spending also boosted advertisement sales, especially on YouTube. Going from the second quarter's 29% to 35% was no mean feat with the firm's chief executive Sun...

Stocks in London ended Tuesday in the red, weighed down by some pre-budget uncertainty, while indices on Wall Street were mixed following US economic data, ahead of earnings from Alphabet. The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.01 points, or 0.8%, at 8,219.61. The FTSE 250 ended down 212.31 points, or 1.0%, at 20,622.79, and the AIM All-Share closed down 5.31 points, or 0.7%, at 715.79. The Cboe UK...

London's FTSE 100 held modest gains around lunchtime on Tuesday but mid-caps wavered as nerves set in ahead of the budget. The UK budget, the first under this Labour government, is announced on Wednesday. The latest ADP US jobs report is also tomorrow afternoon, about 48 hours before Friday's official nonfarm payrolls. Election day in the US is next week Tuesday, with decisions from the Federal...

Shares in online research data and analytics group YouGov (YOU:AIM) jumped more than 10% to 441p after revealing better-than-expected full-year revenue and profit and predicting a pick-up in sales bookings. The stock is down 64% so far in 2024 following a profit warning in June when the company flagged lower than anticipated bookings and lowered guidance. Revenue for the year to 31 July increas...

Rounding out the results of the Big Four UK banks, HSBC (HSBA) delivered third-quarter earnings which beat market forecasts and announced it would launch a fresh $3 billion share buyback. After rallying 4% in Hong Kong earlier in the day, the shares had popped 28p or 4% to 720p by mid-morning taking them to a new 12-month high and the top of the FTSE 100 leader board. BOTTOM LINE BEATS Total re...

Shares in Pearson (PSON) were up more than 3% to £11.13 as the education media group said it was on track to meet full year expectations in a third-quarter trading update. Underlying group sales growth, adjusted operating profit, interest and tax outlook for 2024 remain in line with guidance. Free cash flow conversion is expected to be 95-100%. The company reported a 5% rise in underlying grou...

Oil major BP (BP.) delivered a better-than-feared drop in profits for the third quarter to September and said it will keep the rate of its share buyback programme unchanged at $1.75 billion (£1.35 billion) over the next three months. Nevertheless, the energy major's shares were marked down 1% to 395p with investors unnerved by a net debt uptick from $22.6 billion at the end of June to $24.3 bi...