London's blue-chip benchmark marks time at 7,436.5 points early on, failing to match the strong gains on Wall Street overnight and in Asia this morning.However, heating and plumbing products distributor Ferguson (FERG) firms 3.1% to £50.15 on strong results for the year to July with good trading momentum continuing in the fourth quarter. Enjoying a tailwind in the US, where residential and commer

A sharp drop in demand for residential property sends housebuilders into a spin during early trading on the stock market in London.The FTSE 100 is down 0.8% at 6,253 on the back of choppy overnight trading which saw losses in Tokyo and gains in New York.European markets also trade lower this morning.In London, all eyes are on Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) data which reports demand

The power a positive clinical trial result has on the market was evident at blood monitor-maker Deltex Medical (DEMG:AIM) on Wednesday.Shares climbed 5.7% to 4.6p on initial tests showing that its oesophageal Doppler blood flow monitor eliminates almost three quarters of the complications that can follow surgery.The tests reduced post-operative complications from 198 to 56, or by 72%.The Doppler d

UK stocks fall back in early trade on Wednesday after Chinese manufacturing failed to impress and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a warning on the global economy.That drags on the FTSE 100 index, plunging UK blue-chips 40 points lower, a rough 0.65% decline, to 6,189. Micaps and smaller company indexes are also firmly on the backfoot, as are all major Europ

London stocks edge lower in early trade onTuesday with falling residential and commercial property issues outstripping gains among resources outfits. Traders are looking to UK inflation data mid-morning. Wall Street was lower overnight, while Asia was up. Europe is mildly lower.The FTSE 100 index slips 12 points to 6,187.Global online fashion store ASOS (ASC:AIM) is in vogue, bid up 5% to £35.74

UK markets start the week in the red with politics and commodity volatility driving sentiment.The FTSE 100 dips 43 points (0.7%) to 6,292 and the FTSE 250 loses 90 points, or 0.5% to 17,100.Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is one of the few winners on Monday morning as Playtech (PTEC) abandons a proposed tie-up with trading platform Plus500 (PLUS:AIM).Odey Asset Management, a shareholder in both Pl

The FTSE 100 trades 47.77 points lower at 6,250 in early trading thanks to aircraft engine maker Rolls Royce (RR.) taking a tumble after warning that its earnings outlook for 2015 and next year has weakened. Shares in the £9.9 billion cap plunged 19.7% to 535.8p after an interim management statement showed 2015 guidance unchanged but with profit expected to be at lower end of range.Oil major Roya

London investors continue to scale back their appetite for risk, sending the FTSE 100 plunging again in early trade on Tuesday. The UK benchmark tumbles another 70-odd points, or nearly 1.1%, to 6,549, and there's a very real chance the index could close below the 6,600 mark for the first time since 19 January.In an otherwise fairly quiet day for corporate news, online supermarket Ocado (OCDO) fai

Blood monitor-maker Deltex Medical (DEMG:AIM) will be feeling as fit as a fiddle after a major and prestigious US hospital confirmed that it planned to use its oesophageal Doppler blood flow monitor to help speed-up the recovery of patients following colorectal surgery.The Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts says it is going to make the machine its default choice after positive t

London stocks loss early gains as caution once again grips UK stock markets with the mood still dominated by the delicate state of the negotiations between Greece and its creditors. Having ticked up first thing the FTSE 100 index drifts back modestly, with little in the way of corporate news to stimulate interest, the blue-chips nudging around 14 points lower to 6,776.The midcaps FTSE 250 and the

Could there be a bidding war for Domino's Printing Sciences (DNO)? The market clearly believes so, as the shares at 954p are trading significantly higher than the 915p per share offer that's just been tabled by Brother Industries. Fellow inkjet printing specialist Xaar (XAR) is up 6.1% at 388p amid talk that it could be among other companies in the same sector ripe for a takeover.Small cap miner S

UK markets open trading on Monday cautiously higher as a handful of positive corporate trading updates help offset worries over the big sell-off in China overnight. In early deals the benchmark FTSE 100 index nudges 0.2%, or 14 points, higher to 6,564, while mid caps put in a stronger showing, the FTSE 250 index rising nearly 0.35% to 15,980.Stocks in Shanghai plunged 8% overnight as regulators cl

Value hunters are quickly chased out of UK markets after a promising opening to Thursday trade, with leading indices extending a four-day losing streak. Confidence is not being helped by overnight falls on Wall Street and ongoing crude price pressure.The benchmark FTSE 100 index slides 0.3% lower to 6,374, led by a 3.6% fall to £28.27 by Imperial Tobacco (IMP), the biggest Footsie fallers in earl

UK markets hit the skids as the World Bank spooks investors over too greater reliance on the single engine of the US for global growth, while cutting its own global growth prediction this year from 3.4% to 3%. 'Europe has been pretty sluggish, China's still got that property overhang, Japan's entered recession - you've got the US and UK going fine, so it's a patchy global growth picture,' explain

London's FTSE 100 holds on to modest gains, up 11.28 points to 6609.46 amid thin volumes in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session. One of the morning's star turns is Smith & Nephew (SN.), the knee and hip replacement company, up 7.4% to £11.69 on revived speculation US orthopaedics devices peer Stryker (SYK:NYSE) is planning a takeover bid at a significant premium.Commercial passenger aircraf

The decline in Deltex Medical's (DEMG:AIM) share price has created a buying opportunity at the blood monitor maker as demand in the US is growing. US probe sales improved 12% in the first six months of the year to £480,000 compared to the same period in 2013, and would have shown 20% growth but for the strong pound.International demand helped turnover remain flat at £2.9 million, while pre-tax l

Mr. Kipling cakes-to-Bisto gravy maker Premier Foods (PFD) falls 6.1% to 54p as it warns of disappointing second quarter 'Power Brands' sales amid weak grocery market conditions, a risk previously highlighted by Shares. However, the food producer insists it should still meet 2014 profit forecasts as it bears down on costs. Separately, as part of Premier's ongoing grocery business efficiency drive,

Car parts-to-bicycles seller Halfords (HFD) pedals 9.7% north to 484.4p as solid full-year figures and a better-than-expected fourth quarter sales performance drive earnings forecast upgrades. In recovery mode under CEO Matt Davies, the running Shares Play of the Week's retail like-for-like sales grew 7.6% last year, with cycling products the standout performer.Structurally-challenged mother and b

Domino's Pizza (DOM) jumps 0.5% to 560.25p after unveiling impressive first quarter trading with UK like-for-like sales up 10.8%.Global online fashion store ASOS (ASC:AIM) dips 0.3% to £51.40 despite reassuring interim figures. Lower profits of £20.1 million meet forecasts downgraded last month on increased warehousing investment and bigger-than-expected losses in China. As already reported, sal

Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner (FENR) slips 5.6% to 421.1p on foreign exchange-related concerns as it confirmsresults for the six months to 28 February will be lower year-on-year. The company says, in constant currency terms, the outcome for the year as a whole will show modest growth but flags an £8.7 million hit from currency movements. Investec reckons the share valuation is still too r