Blue-chips in Europe traded slightly lower in a tepid open on Friday, ahead of eurozone data later and an abbreviated session in New York.The FTSE 100 index fell 8.73 points, 0.1%, at 8,272.49. It is up some 2.0% so far this month.The FTSE 250 rose 32.01 points, 0.2%, at 20,794.79, and the AIM All-Share added 0.94 of a point, 0.1%, at 731.85.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.1% at 831.08, the Cboe UK 250

Stock prices in London softened from earlier highs but market sentiment was still positive heading into Monday afternoon after Donald Trump picked hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as his US Treasury pick.The FTSE 100 index added 15.72 points, 0.2%, at 8,277.80. The FTSE 250 rose 15.80 points, 0.1%, at 20,597.49, and the AIM All-Share rose just 0.31 of a point to 732.51.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2%

Stock prices in Europe opened in the green on Monday as Donald Trump picked hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as the next US Treasury secretary, a 'clear nod' to New York equity markets.Bookending the FTSE 100, meanwhile, were two retail names. JD Sports added 3.5%, recovering after slumped 16% on Thursday and losing another 2.1% on Friday. B&Q owner Kingfisher plunged 11% after trimming the top en

The FTSE 100 was flat on Thursday afternoon, treading water after the Bank of England reduced rates, and suggested a more gradual cutting path than some expected.The pound moved higher immediately following the decision, which was accompanied by the BoE's latest economic projections. The central bank suggested last week's UK budget was inflationary.The budget is expected to boost the level of gros

Tech giant Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) saw the launch of its latest iPhone 16 eclipsed by a looming €13 billion Irish back taxes bill and Huawei's own new smartphone launch.Apple has been a long-run target of the European Union's crackdown on Big Tech firms, and the EU's Court of Justice' decision to back a landmark 2016 decision that Ireland broke state-aid law by giving Apple an unfair advantage co

Apple's iPhone 16 launch fails to excite investorsShares modestly lower in pre-market trading at $218Huawei launch shows increasingly stiff competition in ChinaLaunching a new iPhone used to be a very big deal for Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) and have customers queuing round the block. We'll have to wait until later this month (20 Sep) to see if those queues appear since it won't be available until then, b

6.2 million passengers for Wizz Air, up 1%8% rise in passengers for RyanairRyanair reports load factor of 96% in AugustEuropean budget carrier Wizz Air (WIZZ) reported a record 6.2 million passenger numbers for August despite operated seat capacity being down 0.4% year-on-year due to the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine-related groundings.Wizz Air has seen a large number of aircraft grounded thanks to t

Stocks in London were in the green going into Friday afternoon, as investors kept their eyes on US inflation data due out this afternoon.The FTSE 100 index traded up 58.40 points, or 0.7%, at 8,244.06. The FTSE 250 was up 221.33 points, 1.1%, at 21,105.17, while the AIM All-Share rose 3.17 points, 0.4%, at 776.20.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 823.02, the Cboe UK 250 rose 1.1% to 18,493.38, and th

London's FTSE 100 was on the up in early trade on Friday, and it looks set to register a weekly gain despite what has been a tricky few days for global counterparts.US tech sell-offs and poorly-received earnings in Europe have kept investors on their toes this week, but the FTSE 100 has been resilient and is up around 1% so far this week.Focus in the afternoon turns to US data, with the release of

Shares in online property portal Rightmove (RMV) have been trading in the same sideways range for a year, and each time they look set to break out to higher ground the sellers emerge out of the woodwork.Supporters ? including the Shares team, who picked the stock as a Great Idea back in January, towards the bottom of the range ? will be hoping the firm brings positive news when it publishes its ha

A disappointing economic performance as it exited zero-Covid policies, a property crash in 2023 and ongoing geopolitical tensions with the US over Taiwan have caused some investors to lose faith in investing in China in the last couple of years.In terms of ETFs, this has meant investors turning their attention to emerging market funds which specifically exclude the world's second-largest economy f

The FTSE 100 was lower on Monday at midday as the oil price declined despite high tensions between Iran and Israel, while the FTSE 250 was a tad higher.The FTSE 100 index was down 33.43 points, 0.4%, at 7,962.15. The FTSE 250 was up 12.21 points, 0.1%, at 19,733.45, and the AIM All-Share was down 4.01 points, 0.5%, at 751.90.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 795.86, the Cboe UK 250 was marginally d

Whenever there is a discussion about ?quality? UK industrial stocks, the name Spectris (SXS) is often thrown into the ring although we suspect many investors, while being familiar with the company in a general sense, have little idea what it actually does.Looking on Stockopedia, the company has a 99th percentile quality ranking, which backs up its reputation, but it is classified as a large-cap te

We are weeks away from the end of the tax year and inevitably there is plenty of focus on ISAs ? whether that relates opening an account or using up existing allowances.In all the hoo-hah it?s easy to lose sight of just what a compelling vehicle this is for investors. Whatever you are investing for, whether it?s the cost of the kids? education, to supplement your income in retirement or to fund ho

No-one could accuse the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of sitting on its hands, least of all this year.As well as investigating several high-profile mergers ? including this month alone Aviva (AV.)/AIG Life, SpreadEx/Sporting Image, RedBird IMI/Telegraph Media Group, Pharmacy2U/Lloyds Direct and Hitachi/Thales ? the regulator has been busy looking into pricing in the funeral market (again

Stocks in London climbed on hopes earnings from two of the biggest names in US business would spark further upward momentum in equities.The FTSE 100 index closed up 33.57 points, 0.4%, at 7,666.31. The FTSE 250 ended up 38.34 points, 0.2%, at 19,349.50, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.61 points, 0.6%, at 754.89.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 766.38, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 16,807.59,

European equities headed into Tuesday afternoon on the front foot, while equities in New York are called to open a touch lower, as events in the US over the next two days take centre-stage.Tech earnings and Fed decision are on the docket over the next on Tuesday and Wednesday.?The next two days will test investor sentiment thanks to the publication of financial results from two of the biggest name

Equity prices in Europe were on the decline heading into Wednesday afternoon, with the mood in London hurt by a slight uptick in UK inflation, while shares in mining and luxury goods firms were among those hurt by tepid Chinese economic data.The UK data means traders may need to re-think their expectations of a May interest rate cut. In the eurozone, meanwhile, the European Central Bank president

The US has been one of the most prosperous regions for investors over the past decade or so, with its stock market offering access to a range of exciting companies taking on the world. Investors are right to have large exposure to the US but they need to keep an eye on valuations.The Nasdaq 100 trades on 28 times forward earnings and the S&P 500 trades on 20 times forward earnings, according to da

Over the last 15 years the electronics and electronic equipment space, home to some of the UK market's highest-quality engineering and capital goods firms, is the best performing sector in the FTSE 350 with an 11.7% compound annual return.The industrial engineering sector is not too far behind with its own annualised return of 9.7%. For comparison, the FTSE All-Share's annualised return over the s