Low-cost gym operator Gym Group (GYM) looks to be in good shape ahead of its first-half results, due to be released 11 September.In a pre-close statement on 10 July the company raised its full-year profit expectations to the top end of market forecasts after continued positive trading.Company-compiled analysts forecasts for EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) les

London indices closed higher on Monday with mining stocks benefitting from rising gold prices while aerospace & defence manufacturers waned.The FTSE 100 index closed up 45.53 points, 0.6%, at 8,356.94. The FTSE 250 ended up 108.56 points, 0.5%, at 21,157.47, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.32 points, 0.3%, at 776.59.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.6% at 835.35, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.7% at 18,55

Blue chips faded into the close on Friday but the FTSE 250 held its glow as UK financial markets reacted to the election of a Labour government.The FTSE 100 index closed down 37.33 points, or 0.5%, at 8,203.93. The FTSE 250 ended up 176.31 points, or 0.9%, at 20,786.65, while the AIM All-Share closed up 4.97 points, or 0.7%, at 774.39.For the week, the FTSE 100 added 0.5%, the FTSE 250 climbed 2.5

For readers who may not be aware, being market-cap weighted both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 index are reviewed and rebalanced every three months to take account of share price movements.In the previous review, which took place at the end of February, budget airline group EasyJet (EZJ) won promotion to the FTSE 100 while precious metals group Endeavour Mining (EDV) was relegated to the FTSE 250

For anyone who owns a FTSE 100, FTSE 250 or FTSE All-Share tracker fund or ETF, there are one or two changes next week as a result of the latest quarterly index review.Investors in these securities don?t need to do anything themselves as the underlying indices ? compiled by FTSE Russell, part of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) ? will automatically implement the changes from the start of trading

The end of the tax year is coming down the track fast and that means there are only weeks remaining to make full use of your £20,000 annual ISA allowance.Even if you are some way off this maximum limit or haven?t invested through an ISA at all in 2023/24, the rapidly approaching deadline is a good spur to look at the possibility of making money from the financial markets.Two weeks ago we ran an a

Bets that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates as early as March are starting to look optimistic after stronger-than-expected US jobs numbers over the past week, pushing up bond yields and leaving equity investors pondering what to do next.In a shortened working week, thanks to the Martin Luther King Day holiday (15 Jan), major US equity markets ended pretty much where they starte

Stock prices in London closed mixed on Tuesday, as miners weighed on the FTSE 100 while mid-caps improved.Investors also had their eye on key US jobs data out later this week.The FTSE 100 index closed down 23.12 points, 0.3%, at 7,489.84. The FTSE 250 ended up 126.28 points, 0.7%, at 18,487.53, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.44 points, or 0.2%, at 716.68.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 747.5

The Schroder Recovery Fund (B3VVG60) aims to generate capital gains superior to the FTSE All-Share Total Return Index, net of fees, over a three- to five-year horizon by investing in 'UK companies which have suffered a severe setback in either share price or profitability'.The fund was launched back in 1970 and has stood the test of time, beating its target return over one, three and 10 years and

Stocks prices in London ended in the red on Friday as a higher-for-longer narrative around interest rates and heightened tensions in the Middle East weighed on market mood.The FTSE 100 index closed down 97.39 points, 1.3%, at 7,402.14. The FTSE 250 ended down 180.41 points, 1.1%, at 17,032.73, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.84 of a point, or 0.1%, at 682.93.Over the past week, they are down 3

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has floated and announced big policy changes recently from delaying a ban of the sales of new petrol and diesel cares, pulling back on phasing out gas boilers and introducing a New Zealand-style anti-smoking policy.There has also been the public discussion of abandoning or at least curtailing the zero-carbon high-speed railway to the north of England - better known as HS

The FTSE 100 index ended the week higher, following an interest rate hike from the European Central Bank Thursday.Attention now turns to interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 38.30 points, or 0.5% at 7,711.38 on Friday and ended the week 3.1% higher.The FTSE 250 ended down 109.93 points, or 0.6%, at 18,789.

The FTSE 100 was higher at the close on Thursday following a 'dovish' 25 basis point hike from the European Central Bank, which investors hoped might be its last.'This time, the ECB decided to compromise: a dovish hike, mainly aimed at strengthening credibility and probably bridging growing divergences between ECB hawks and doves,' said Carsten Brzeski at ING.The FTSE 100 index closed up 147.09 po

Stocks in London were higher at midday on Thursday, as investors eyed a key interest rate decision from the European Central Bank this afternoon.The FTSE 100 registered some strong gains, as it got a boost from miners.The FTSE 100 index was up 82.60 points, or 1.1%, at 7,608.59. The FTSE 250 was marginally higher, up just 5.10 points at 18,566.67 and the AIM All-Share was up 1.27 points, or 0.2%,

The FTSE 100 finished red at the close on Wednesday, hampered by data which showed the UK economy shrank more than anticipated in July, ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision next week.The FTSE 100 index was down just 1.54 points at 7,536.27 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 ended up 19.20 points, or 0.1%, at 18,561.50. The AIM All-Share closed down 2.46 points, or 0.3%, at 740.

Automotive engineer Dowlais (DWL) is poised to announce its maiden results as a public company after its spin-off from industrial turnaround specialist Melrose (MRO) in April 2023.Shareholders will be hoping the first-half numbers on 12 September help provide a boost after a bumpy start to life on the market as an individual entity, the shares falling around 25% from their 143.5ppeak.Five years on

London's FTSE 100 ended solidly higher on Thursday, building on Wednesday's advance, as stocks with an exposure to China shone.Though the data recently from the world's second-largest economy has underwhelmed, investors were optimistic about China's prospects on Thursday, amid the hope that stimulus is on the way.The FTSE 100 index closed up 57.85 points, 0.8%, at 7,646.05. The FTSE 250 ended down

Stocks in London closed lower on Tuesday, as a stalemate in US debt ceiling talks hurt market sentiment for yet another day.The FTSE 100 index closed down 8.04 points, 0.1%, at 7,762.95. Gains for oil majors and international earners, amid a muted pound, shielded London's blue-chip index from a sharper decline.The FTSE 250 lost 65.03 points, 0.3%, at 19,208.31, and the AIM All-Share ended down jus

Student accommodation is a segment of the property market with supportive dynamics coming out of the pandemic and we think Empiric Student Property (ESP) is an attractively valued way of gaining access to this space.Empiric trades at a substantial discount to its larger peer Unite (UTG), reflecting a somewhat more uneven track record and its smaller scale, but we think the managers of the real est

AdmiralInvestors are hoping the insurer doesn't deliver the scale of bad news served up by Direct LineOver the past year, a nasty profit warning by Direct Line (DLG), the cancellation of its dividend and suspension of a share buyback programme have put the shivers into anyone holding shares in the general insurance sector. The company was hit by a rise in claims and an increase in costs associated