London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Friday, as the pound surged to a more than two-week high and approached the $1.25 mark on the back of decent UK data and as hopes of a 'softer approach' to tariffs from the US administration hurt the dollar.The FTSE 100 index ended 62.85 points, 0.7%, at 8,502.35. The FTSE 250 lost just 2.34 points at 20,518.05, and the AIM All-Share fell 5.81 points, 0.8%, at 715.

Promising UK data pushed the pound back above the $1.24 mark on Friday, putting pressure on the FTSE 100 and ensuring London's blue-chip index failed to replicate the more confident trade seen in mainland Europe.The FTSE 100 index was down 29.04 points, 0.3%, at 8,536.16. The FTSE 250 was up 56.83 points, 0.3%, at 20,577.22, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.45 points, 0.3%, at 718.41.The Cboe UK 1

Long-term supply agreement reached with AmazonConfident in meeting full year expectationsBloomsbury shares up 43% over the past yearShares in Bloomsbury (BMY) were up over 2% to 670p in early morning trading as the publishing group said it had reached a new long-term supply agreement with Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ).The company also reaffirmed confidence in meeting consensus market expectations for the y

Q3 sales better-than-fearedTurnaround strategy showing promiseFull-year 2025 guidance upgradedBritish luxury fashion house Burberry (BRBY) topped the FTSE 250 on 24 January, its shares rallying 16% to £12.41 after the footwear-to-leather accessories designer delivered a far better-than-feared drop in third quarter sales.This performance stoked optimism that new chief executive Joshua Schulman's '

Rail infrastructure division disappointsDelays to National Rail spending blamedAnalysts cut full-year forecasts by 9%In an unscheduled trading update ahead of its AGM on Monday 27 January, infrastructure and engineering services group Renew Holdings (RNWH:AIM) revealed full-year trading would be below expectations due to 'challenges' in its rail division.The shares, which have been steady performe

The week may have started quietly with markets closed for Martin Luther King Day on Monday (20 Jan) and the inauguration of President Trump, but the calm didn't last.Stocks took off with gains across the board, with all the main indices up around 3% and the S&P 500 notching up a new all-time high.Markets were buoyed by Trump's measured approach to trade tariffs and became positively ecstatic when

Blue-chip stocks in London advanced on Thursday, as housebuilders buoyed the FTSE 100 index despite jitters from retailers after poor updates.The FTSE 100 index rose 20.07 points, 0.2%, at 8,565.20. It earlier set a new intra-day high of 8,572.51.The FTSE 250 lost 59.91 points, 0.3%, at 20,520.39, and the AIM All-Share ended down just 0.14 of a point at 720.86.The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.3% at 859.10,

Stock prices in London were mostly lower at midday on Thursday, ahead of US jobless figures, while the European Central Bank's next rate call due next Thursday is getting closer.'The FTSE 100's strong start to 2025 is starting to lose some momentum,' commented AJ Bell's Russ Mould, adding: 'In London, retailers were on the back foot with some recent measures of UK consumer confidence suggesting th

UK like-for-likes down in Christmas quarter'Cautious' shopper, mild weather blamedGrocery brands growing overseasFoods-to-fashion giant Associated British Foods (ABF) delivered a disappointing first quarter trading update with weak UK sales at Primark driving a sales growth guidance reduction for the retail jewel in the conglomerate's crown.Analysts downgraded their group profit forecasts on news

Investors will be hoping for another serving of positive news when resilient beverages business AG Barr (BAG) delivers its trading update for the year ended 25 January 2025 on 28 January. However, cooling UK consumer confidence since the Budget combined with recent cold weather suggests guidance upgrades are unlikely.The FTSE 250 firm, whose brands include Irn-Bru, Rubicon and Boost, is rebuilding

The world's second largest cruise operator Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL:NYSE) is expected to release its fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings before the market opens on 28 January.Analysts expect the US cruise operator to report a profit of $1.49 per share up 19.2% from $1.25 per share in the same quarter a year ago.Royal Caribbean third quarter 2024 performance exceeded expectations driven

There was no cause for celebration last week when gift card and wrapping paper maker IG Design (IGR:AIM) warned its full-year results would be 'significantly below' market forecasts due to problems with its Americas division.On the day (17 January), the shares crashed 83p or 58% and they continue to move lower due to third-quarter trading which was negatively impacted by 'challenging retail condit

In just the first 20 days of 2025 the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip stocks has equaled its gains for the entirety of 2024, in the process closing at an all-time high of 8,505 points on 17 January.A better-than-expected inflation report for December together with weaker-than-expected retail sales for the same month appeared to open the door to faster Bank of England rate cuts, pushing the index to it

As we predicted a fortnight ago, US banks enjoyed strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 helped by elevated levels of trading in stocks and bonds as well as higher investment banking fees as companies took advantage of low borrowing costs and buoyant stock markets to raise fresh capital.Given the sharp rise in the KBW Nasdaq Bank index over the last year, and gains of around 50% for b

Quantum computing has been setting the investment world on fire in recent months, and late last year, a handful of specialist stocks hit escape velocity.Between mid-November and the start of January, companies like Rigetti Computing (RGTI:NASDAQ) and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS:NYSE), two of the most traded stocks among AJ Bell platform users, saw their share prices surge 1,400% and 600% respectively.Hea

With most of the big names in the retail sector having reported we can get a decent picture of how the sector fared in the run-up to and during the festive period. A weak trading backdrop for non-food retail in October and November, before Santa delivered a return to growth in December, a month that also witnessed a notable shift to online sales according to the latest data (17 January) from The O

Currys (CURY) 94.1pGain to date: 56.7%After the takeover saga around Currys came to a close in 2024 we flagged that the electronics retailer was too cheap and had recovery potential.WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?Our hypothesis has proved sound, the shares making substantial progress supported by consistently strong trading, with the latest example occurring over Christmas, allowing Currys t

Netflix added record 19 million subscribers Shares set to surpass $1,000 for the first timeLive sports proving a winnerShares in Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) soared more than 14% to $997 in after hours trading on 21 January after the global streaming giant revealed it added a record 19 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter.That meant the company finished 2024 with 302 million subscribers, up 15%

Chip firm's market cap hits $3.45 trillionSurging demand for GPUs crucial for AI applicationsNvidia stock averaged 86.8% annual gain over five yearsAI chip champion Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) has regained the top spot as the world's most valuable company after a 5% turnaround versus Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) overnight.Nvidia shares closed the session on Tuesday (21 January) up 2.3% at $140.83 for a $3,449 bil

Festive like-for-likes up 6.1%Year-to-date sales up 4%£60 million extra labour costs expectedPubs group JD Wetherspoon (JDW) reported strong trading over the festive season with like-for-like sales up 6.1% over the three weeks between 16 December 2024 to 5 January 2025.In the last 12-weeks, representing Wetherspoon's financial second quarter, like-for-like sales growth slowed to 4.6% compared wit