London's FTSE 100 traded 0.39% higher at 7,218.19 points on Friday, the blue chip benchmark shrugging off weaker retail sales data amid easing China concerns following reports that cash-strapped property firm Evergrande will make a key interest payment at the weekend.UK retail sales volumes fell 0.2% in September, bucking expectations for a monthly rise of 0.5%.Overnight across the pond, the...

The FTSE 100 opens in an upbeat manner, starting the day 31 points higher at 7,646.98. The UK's leading index is following the US where the Dow Jones continues to hit new highs. However, all eyes are on the World Economic Forum held in Davos, where President Trump is making his maiden speech.In corporate news, National Grid (NG.) improves 1.5% to 807.5p thanks to an upgrade by investment bank...

A profit warning from BATM Advanced Communications (BVC) has triggered a 25% fall in the share price to 15p. The medical laboratory-to-telecoms technology specialist has suffered from a delay in receiving parts and tighter credit control. The latter has seen BATM demand stricter payment conditions before it will send out goods, resulting in the group stopping shipments to several major...

Online dating group Cupid (CUP:AIM) has been dumped by investors after a blossoming relationship turned sour. The £120 million cap slumped 10% to 141p, extending several days of losses, after a financial blog published internet monitoring data which implied the group's portfolio of websites to be losing popularity. The company was forced to respond to the large sell-off in its stock by saying...