The FTSE 100 opens up flat on Monday morning despite robust gains in Asia overnight. At 7,718.46 the index is less than 1% away from the record close posted in January 2018.British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) reports a boost to energy demand from colder than normal weather but also increased call-out costs. This adds up to lower first half adjusted operating profit compared to the same period a year

Bookmaker William Hill (WMH) has ended talks over a possible £4.5bn tie-up with Amaya, owner of the world's biggest poker website. Investors welcome the news to concentrate on its already set-out four-pronged plans - online, technology, efficiencies and international, to deliver value for shareholders, the stock rising 1.7% to 310.2p.That's roughly in line with the wider market mood in early trad

Gains for commodities as investors bargain on interest rates staying lower for longer helps miners post early gains in London this morning.Most commodities traded higher overnight, including crude, copper and natural gas, with gold the only notable loser, down 0.25% to $1241 (£859).Diggers Rio Tinto (RIO), Anglo American (AAL), BHP Billiton (BLT) and Antofagasta (ANTO) all start with gains of mor

UK shares dip modestly lower in early trade on Friday following a two-day run of soaring gains. The FTSE 100 slips around 6 points lower to 6,095, responding to a lower Wall Street overnight, sparked by a widening US current-account deficit and weaker-than-forecast manufacturing data. Europe is weaker too.Retail powerhouse Sports Direct (SPD) puts on 3p at 579.5p after issuing a statement defendin

UK shares rally strongly in early trade on Thursday as investors lap up the US Fed's expected 0.25% rate hike overnight, despite a cautious accompanying statement. Wall Street and Asia were firmer overnight, and Europe is up more than 2.7% so far. In London, insurance and financials lead the charge, with Old Mutual (OML) again topping the Footsie leader board with 7.6% gain to 177.6p as it bounces

A warningover 2016 earnings expectations sends FTSE 100 outsourcer Serco (SRP) down 7.3% to 106p. While 2015 profit is set to beat market forecasts at £95 million, next year's guidance is for a mere £50 million.Luxury interior furnishings firm Walker Greenbank (WGB:AIM) is marked down 4.4% to 207.5p as it warns profit will be hit by flooding at its Lancaster-based factory, caused by heavy rain b

UK shares get off to a strong start in early trade on Monday having settled down after early confusion over blue-chip miner Glencore (GLEN). The FTSE100 rallies 125 points, or about 2%, to 6,254, bettering gains on Wall Street at the end of last week and mirroring equally robust markets across Europe.FTSE 100 commodities trader Glencore caused widespread confusion at the start of the new week as i

The FTSE is trading 15 points higher (0.21%) at 7,022 partly thanks to supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO) rising 1% to 222.9p on speculation that it is on the verge of selling its Korean business.Royal Mail (RMG) dips 1.4% to 493p as full-year resultsincluding a warning about the state of the UK parcels and letters market with the company expecting it to remain 'highly competitive'. Adjusted pre-tax p

UK stocks ease back from highs in early trade Monday as investors top slice profits after the FTSE 100 closed on Friday at a record-breaking 7,022.51. The blue-chip index slips around 20 points, or 0.3%, lower dipping just below the psychologically important 7,000 mark at 6,999.Investors continue to flock to emerging market lender Standard Chartered (STAN) ahead of the new chief executive's arriva

Chocolatier Thorntons (THT) melts 15.75% to 119.63p as investors lock in gains following a mixed third quarter trading statement. The market is reading the announcement as a profit warning but that's not what Thorntons has said. Sales over the 15 weeks to 26 April, including Easter, fell 7.6%, reflecting early spring deliveries to supermarkets and the impact of store closures. Crucially, Easter wa

Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (JMAT) is the FTSE 100's biggest gainer, adding 3.6% to £32.06 after the platinum refining, catalytic converter producer posted a strong upturn in revenue and profits.The £6.3 billion cap says underlying profit before tax rose 13% to £202.1 million in the six months to September. Revenues in the period jumped 31% to £6.4 billion with a very strong first

The technology sector has taken a big hit with several profit warnings. Leading the pack is language translation specialist SDL (SDL) which crashed 34% to 256p after saying that its earnings would be much less than previously expected. The new profits steer of £15 million to £20 million halves previous hopes, sparking some City watchers to ponder if there are deeper problems under SDL's skin.Hi-

The market applauded news that Rentokil Initial (RTO) has finally sold its troubled City Link delivery business. The shares jumped 6.7% to 103.1p despite Rentokil only getting a mere £1 for the subsidiary. Investors were no doubt pleased that the worst-performing part of the group has been offloaded and that this should improve the overall financial results from the parent. Private equity group B

On a day dominated by setbacks from the banking sector and a large amount of stocks going ex-dividend, the FTSE 100 still managed to achieve a small gain, rising 9 points to 6,414.Investors welcomed a series of positive announcements from the retail sector, including a significant improvement in profit from Thorntons (THT). The chocolate specialist jumped 4.3% to 79p after saying that earnings wou