London stocks closed in the green on Monday, as shares in defence firms surged across Europe amid expectations of heightened defence spending.Shares in Thales were 17% higher in Paris, Leonardo climbed 16% in Milan, BAE Systems jumped 14% in London and Rheinmetall leapt 15% in Frankfurt.On the FTSE 250, Babcock was up 8.9% and Qinetiq up 11%.JPMorgan increased share price targets by an average of

European stocks climbed on Monday, with defence firms leading gains as leaders gathered in Paris to discuss increased military spending amid calls for greater European security investment, while markets also reacted to surging gold prices.The FTSE 100 index closed up 35.55 points, 0.4%, at 8,768.01. The FTSE 250 ended up 25.67 points, 0.1%, at 20,938.68, but the AIM All-Share closed down 0.84 of a

The FTSE 100 opened in the green on Monday despite geopolitical concerns and tariff worries continuing to hang over equities.The FTSE 100 index rose 13.43 points, 0.2%, at 8,745.89. The FTSE 250 added 64.96 points, 0.3%, at 20,977.97, and the AIM All-Share rose 1.33 points, 0.2%, at 727.39.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 877.63, the Cboe UK 250 also added 0.3% to 18,333.89, and the Cboe Small Compa

London's FTSE 100 traded lower around midday on Thursday, as poorly received earnings weighed, missing out on a Ukraine peace hope-led rally elsewhere in Europe.The FTSE 100 index traded down 58.01 points, 0.7%, at 8,749.43. The FTSE 250 was down 16.97 points, 0.1%, at 20,863.53, and the AIM All-Share fell 0.71 of a point, 0.1%, at 722.68.The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.6% at 876.73, the Cboe UK 250 lost 0

London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Friday, as a sharp sell-off in alcohol makers, spurred by US calls for cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages, weighed on the index alongside weak housebuilders, despite gains in oil majors Shell and BP and a bright start on Wall Street.The FTSE 100 index ended down 36.11 points, 0.4%, at 8,223.98. The FTSE 250 fell 48.83 points, 0.2%, at 20,591.40. But the A

Equities in Europe declined on Monday, in holiday-thinned trade, while declines in New York were more dramatic, with tech stocks bearing the brunt.The FTSE 100 index ended down 28.77 points, 0.4%, at 8,121.01. The FTSE 250 shed 84.10 points, 0.4%, at 20,404.55, and the AIM All-Share lost 0.89 of a point, 0.1%, at 714.23.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 814.55, the Cboe UK 250 fell 0.4% at 17,858

Stocks in London ended mixed on Wednesday, but the FTSE 100 held on to finish in the green, despite oil prices tailing off and trade in mainland Europe being slightly less convincing.The FTSE 100 index ended up 14.21 points, 0.2%, at 8,290.86. The FTSE 250 closed 130.92 points lower, 0.6%, at 20,783.78, and the AIM All-Share shed 2.50 points, 0.3%, at 734.30.The Cboe UK 100 ended 0.1% higher at 82

Stocks in London closed in the green on Friday, as Chinese stimulus measures continued to give equities a boost.The FTSE 100 index ended up 35.85 points, 0.4%, at 8,320.76. The FTSE 250 closed up 230.12 points, 1.1%, at 21,240.56, and the AIM All-Share added 4.00 points, 0.5%, at 745.65.For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the FTSE 250 added 2.0%. The AIM was unmoved from this time last week.The

European equities nursed heavy losses at the open on Thursday, as investors weighed a mixed bag of earnings and hefty losses in US markets.Still, the FTSE 100 index traded down 60.56 points, or 0.7%, at 8,093.13. The FTSE 250 was down 201.65 points, 1.0%, at 20,749.19, while the AIM All-Share fell 5.35 points, 0.7%, at 771.29.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.7% at 807.72, the Cboe UK 250 dropped 1.1% to

Stock prices in London were lower at midday Friday, as investors grappled with a large IT outage on a global scale that affected a plethora of businesses and trade.Companies around the world reported technical issues, with planes grounded, trains disrupted, and television and radio broadcasters taken offline, while Microsoft Corp said it was taking mitigating actions after service issues.As AJ Bel

The FTSE 100 was in the green on Friday morning, while other stocks were mostly downbeat amid gloomy UK retail sales data and a global IT outage.Companies around the world reported technical issues, with planes grounded, trains disrupted, and television and radio broadcasters taken offline. According to Sky News, Berlin Airport has halted all flights until 0900 BST, while Microsoft Corp said it wa

European stocks closed higher in confident trade on Wednesday, with the mood supported by cooler US data aiding interest rate cut hopes, and belief that the French election outcome could be more favourable than first feared.French voters went to the polls for the first round of the legislative election on Sunday, and they return to them this week. In the UK, there was a boost for the Labour Party

Stocks in London fell on Friday at midday despite a positive outlook from the CBI for the UK economy, ahead of a US jobs report reading.The FTSE 100 index was down 47.62 points, 0.6%, at 8,237.71. The FTSE 250 was down 105.46 points, 0.5%, at 20,610.42, and the AIM All-Share was down 2.27 points, 0.3%, at 794.27.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 821.06, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 18,031.68, a

Stock prices in London were up on Thursday afternoon, although the FTSE 100 pared its initial progress and traded only a hair higher.The UK economy slipped into recession in the final quarter of 2023, according to the latest data, buoying hopes of speedier interest rate cuts from the Bank of England.But for the FTSE 100, gains were hard to come by as the equity trading session dragged on, with sha

London?s FTSE 100 struggled on Monday, as robust US services data strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting interest rates for now.The FTSE 100 index slipped just 2.68 points to 7,612.86. The FTSE 250 fell 154.09 points, 0.8%, at 19,018.55, and the AIM All-Share gave back 3.80 points, 0.5%, at 750.37.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.1% at 761.09, the Cboe UK 250 slumped 1.0

?Exceptional? flow of new ordersNet loss smaller than expectedMost shorted listed UK companyOilfield services group Petrofac (PFC) delivered a triple whammy of good news to investors today with a positive trading update and a narrower projected loss for the full year.The firm also revealed it had secured a performance guarantee for $1.4 billion from Dutch utility company TeneT under a multi-year c

A wall of money is going into building out the green infrastructure required to facilitate the global energy transition. This starts with electrifying power generation all the way through to transmitting and storing this energy before it is eventually consumed.At the same time, indebted governments are increasingly looking to private companies to help solve the global water challenge.Water is an e

Stock prices in London were higher at Thursday's open, lifted by 'record' results from Nvidia late Wednesday, as well as a more positive outlook ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole event.The FTSE 100 index opened up 38.72 points, 0.5%, at 7,359.25. The FTSE 250 was up 149.88 points, 0.8%, at 18,376.37, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.48 points, 0.3%, at 736.95.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.5%, t

China's rapid retreat from its zero-Covid policy in a bid to boost economic growth is one of the big investment themes of 2023 and is sure to provide a major boon for consumption in the so-called Middle Kingdom. Since November 2022, the government has dramatically reopened the Chinese economy and rolled back pandemic-induced restrictions that had been in place for three years.While the end of zero

Shares were rebounding early Thursday, after the Swiss central bank threw a financial lifeline to Credit Suisse, whose mounting woes triggered a sell-off of European bank stocks on Wednesday.Attention now turns to a interest rate decision by the European Central Bank, due around midday. Wednesday's turmoil has put ECB policy-makers in a tricky position. The bank had telegraphed a 50 basis point ra