On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market exp

The unveiling of a new British ISA helped give domestic stocks a modest lift after its announcement in the Budget.The £5,000 limit on the new tax wrapper, which can only be invested in UK assets, will be in addition to the existing £20,000 ISA allowance.The key test will be whether this provides a meaningful boost in terms of flows into UK equities and helps improve what has been a very difficul

Abrdn shares tumble almost 10% on updateQuilter shares jump 13% on raised outlook Abrdn the most unloved UK stockShares in fund management group Abrdn (ABDN) slid to the bottom of the FTSE 100 leaderboard with a drop of 9.5% to 198p after it revealed a drop in total assets in the first half.In contrast, shares in FTSE 250 wealth management firm Quilter (QLT) rallied over 13% to 80.5p as assets inc

This article attempts to uncover the least favoured stocks in the UK market. The idea is to identify contrarian investment ideas which have the potential for a strong rebound when sentiment improves.Betting against the crowd when they are wrong is a sure-fire way to make money in the stock market, but it's much easier said than done.Picking individual stocks is hard to get right. Even the professi

Shareholders in Russian real estate company Raven Property (RAV) may lose the entirety of their investment after the firm called to de-list its shares.The company argued the impact of sanctions 'have made it impracticable for the business to continue in its current form'.The shares, which had already lost nearly 90% of their value before today's announcement, were suspended before the London open

UK stocks closed on a positive note with the FTSE 100 index ending 1.3% higher at 7,470 points and the FTSE 250 Index firming 1% to 21,873 points at the bell.Brent crude futures hit $90 per barrel for the time since 2014, fueling concerns over inflationary pressures and the need to further raise UK interest rates. Goldman Sachs recently increased its oil price forecast to $100 per barrel.However,

The major UK equity markets continued to build on earlier gains at lunchtime trading on Wednesday.Travel stocks were in demand following the government's confirmation that Covid testing will be dropped for double jabbed travellers arriving in England.At lunchtime the blue chip FTSE 100 equity index was 1.76% higher at 7501.16 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 firmed 1.5% to 21,976.03.All eyes will be focus

Leading UK shares have shrugged-off concerns currently upsetting Wall Street as expectations grow that the Federal Reserve will act more swiftly than previously predicted to try and tame rampant inflation. At the same time, tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to grow, adding another volatile factor into the mix.At 9am, the benchmark FTSE 100 is close on 1.5% ahead at 7,479.13, not far fro

London's FTSE 100 finished 0.4% higher at 6,737.30 points ahead of the Easter break amid optimism over a reopening of the UK economy.By 4.30pm UK time, the S&P 500 index in the US moved had above 4,000 for the first time, marking a record high after US President Joe Biden proposed a fresh $2 trillion stimulus package. US tech stocks rose on the back of Biden's plan to pump funds into key industrie

The FTSE 100 dropped 58 points or 1% to 5,832 points at lunchtime on Wednesday as markets awaited signs of progress on talks over further US stimulus.Sentiment also took a hit as Netflix disappointed the market after the market close and the shares traded down 7% in after-hours dealing. Even companies which have beaten forecasts, such as Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin, have failed to react

The FTSE 100 opened 1% lower Wednesday to 5,838 points following comments on Tuesday by deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam that tighter restrictions were needed to stop the spread of coronavirus.Sentiment also took a hit in the US with Netflix disappointing the market after the market close, reporting fewer new subscribers than analysts' expected with the shares off 7% in after-hours tr

UK and European stock markets enjoyed a day of strong gains on Tuesday as investors took a risk-on approach in the face of speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since

European stock markets stormed higher across the board at lunchtime on Tuesday as investors pin hopes on speculation in Washington that President Trump could introduce a capital gains tax cut to create jobs.UK stocks shrugged aside latest employment data which showed the number of people in work in the three months through June fell by 220,000, the biggest quarterly decline since the global financ

UK stocks opened substantially lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 off 1.75% at 5,710.95 early on after oil plays were hit by the crude oil price slump, with COVID-19 lockdowns sapping demand for energy in an already-oversupplied market.Oil futures fell heavily on Tuesday after short-run contracts of West Texas Intermediate yesterday fell in to negative territory for the first time ever, meaning p

London's FTSE 100 started 2020 on the front foot, nudging 68.6 points higher to 7,611 as the markets eagerly await signature on a phase one trade agreement between the US and China, promised on 15 January. Miners were among the top performers and UK property investor British Land (BLND) was among the laggards.Shares in Africa-focused oil producer Tullow (TLW) shed 7% to 59.5p on the news 'net pay'

UK wealth manager Quilter (QLT) recorded a 9% rise in assets under management (AUM) to £118.7bn for the first nine months of the year, but saw net fund outflows of £500m in the three months to 30 September. Shares traded down 2.6% to 140p.Chief executive Paul Freeney said,' while near-term headwinds remain, this demonstrates that our clients and their advisers value Quilter's integrated advice-l

UK stocks erased their early gains to trade higher mid-morning with the FTSE 100 index up 0.3% to 7,233.Leading the market were defensive stocks including British American Tobacco (BATS) up 1.5%% to £27.07, Imperial Brands (IMB) up 1.1% to £18.70 and Centrica (CNA) up 1.3% to 74p.A positive third quarter trading update from copper producer Antofagasta (ANTO) sent its shares up 1% to 867p, liftin

Heavy selling on Asian markets and escalating trade tensions lead to second day straight of large losses across UK stock markets in early trade on Monday. Just mining group Fresnillo (FRES) and British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) make positive moves across the whole FTSE 100, which slumps more than 100 points, or 1.35%, to 7,307.00.Leading the sell-off is grocery techno

The FTSE 100 opened virtually unchanged at 7,608.54 this morning as fears grow among economists that the UK could've gone into the red in last three months. Given business sentiment surveys in June for construction and manufacturing were pretty dismal, it's believed that UK gross domestic product (GDP) will have shrunk in the second quarter.There's also confusion as to whether the Bank of England

The FTSE 100 is slightly lower, down 0.16% to 7,457.47 in early trading, despite positive Chinese growth figures overnight and after a mixed set of first quarter earnings from the US overnight.Mining titan BHP (BHP) falls 2.6% as it cuts its iron-ore output guidance following cyclones in Australia's remote Pilbara region.Outsourcing group Bunzl (BNZL) tumbles 12% on announcing that its revenue gro