Stocks in London climbed higher at the close on Friday, while the pound rebounded, amid renewed hopes of faster rate cuts in the US following a jobs report.The FTSE 100 index closed up 67.05 points, or 0.8%, at 8,177.15. The FTSE 250 ended up 90.78 points, or 0.5%, at 20,479.74, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.90 points, 0.3%, at 739.00.For the week, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9%, the FTSE 250 was

London's FTSE 100 rallied on Friday, as budget nerves calmed, with investors hoping US nonfarm payrolls will not throw a spanner in the works at the end of an eventful week.The FTSE 100 index traded up 66.55 points, 0.8%, at 8,176.65. The FTSE 250 was up 49.99 points, 0.3%, at 20,438.95, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.38 points, 0.2%, at 738.48.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.8% at 820.05, the Cboe UK 25

The FTSE 100 in London opened higher on Friday, eating into some of its post-UK budget weakness, while the pound gained some lost ground.Eyes turn state side later, with US jobs data to come, before the Federal Reserve decision next week, and a presidential election on Tuesday.Closer to home, Reckitt shares jumped on a favourable US legal ruling on infant formula. Airlines struggled as oil prices

Results exceed gloomy estimatesSignificant drop in net debtFresh $3.5 billion buybackShares in Shell (SHEL) ticked up 1% to £25.15 after the energy giant delivered better-than-expected third-quarter results as headwinds from lower oil prices and weaker refining margins were partially offset by higher gas sales.There was also relief as the oil major reported a quarter-on-quarter decrease in net de

Equities in London were lower on Thursday morning, UK bond yields spiked and the pound was around the $1.30 mark as investor digest Wednesday's budget announcement.Early UK corporate updates were mixed. Shell and Coca-Cola HBC impressed, but Smith & Nephew and Kainos were among those to disappoint.Those reports followed earnings from New York-listed Meta and Microsoft overnight, which similarly fa

ProCook (PROC) 29pMarket cap: £32.7 millionRisk-tolerant investors seeking a compelling recovery play with tasty re-rating potential should consider ProCook (PROC). This direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand is carving out market share gains under management's refreshed strategy to serve up profitable growth.After a tough few years post its 2021 IPO (initial public offering), when the c

Investors in fantasy and fiction publisher Bloomsbury (BMY) are living in a dream world at the moment as the group continues to book double-digit annual growth in both sales and earnings and raise its outlook, sending its shares to a record high of 758p.For the first half to the end of August, revenue grew 32% to a record £180 million and profit leapt 50% to £26.6 million, partly due to the incl

The recent legal wrangling between UK chip architecture designer Arm Holdings (ARM:NASDAQ) and one of its major clients Qualcomm (QCOM:NASDAQ) is likely to be one of the big talking points when the firm reports second-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025 next week (6 November).The dispute is over a license agreement which Qualcomm obtained through its acquisition of Nuvia back in 2021.Arm has been una

Games Workshop (GAW) £119.40Market Cap: £3.9 billionWe flagged fantasy miniatures maker Games Workshop (GAW) in June 2022 at around £63 after the shares had halved in the prior nine months, arguing they rarely traded as cheaply.The shares have since retraced the lost ground but still sit just below all-time highs of around £120 and effectively have gone sideways over the last year. Meanwhile t

Marks & Spencer's (MKS) stock is up the best part of 80% over one year and has rallied 40% year-to-date, driven by positive momentum in both food and clothing and a recent return to the dividend trail which has attracted income seekers.This suggests the British retail institution will need to deliver a positive outlook and/or another profit upgrade alongside its first-half results (6 November) if

Paul's very first taste of investing came when his employer, aerospace and defence company Rolls Royce (RR.), introduced an employee share scheme which gave him what seemed to be a low-risk way of getting exposure to its shares.It seemed low risk, explains Paul, because the scheme allowed employees to save a monthly or four weekly amount for five years and at the end of the period the savings and

Trainline (TRN) 374pGain to date: 15.1%Market cap: £1.5 billionIt is barely two months since the rail ticketing app Trainline (TRN) said it was raising its full-year 2025 guidance and it has now repeated the trick.We flagged the stock's appeal in early February because of the continuing potential in its domestic market and, in particular, its ability to tap into European growth.WHAT HAPPENED SINC

Shares ended mixed in London on Wednesday as the UK government delivered its long-awaited tax plan, which though a 'difficult choice,' was largely in line with investor expectations.The FTSE 100 index closed down 59.98 points, or 0.7%, at 8,159.63. The FTSE 250 ended up 71.33 points, or 0.4%, at 20,694.12, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.0%, or 28.82 points, at 744.61.The Cboe UK 100 ended down

Stock prices in London were mixed just before the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, with the FTSE 100 lower and the FTSE 250 and AIM All-Share registering a minor gain.The FTSE 100 index traded down 42.68 points, 0.5%, at 8,176.93. The FTSE 250 was up just 3.96 points at 20,626.75, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.98 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.77.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 818.

Budget day upgradeQ3 full price sales up 7.6%Annual profit guidance hiked to £1 billionRetail star turn Next (NXT) has raised its year-to-January 2025 profit guidance for the third time in three months after this year's early arrival of cold weather boosted its third quarter sales.Shares in the FTSE 100 company ticked up 1.5% to £102 as the fashion giant upgraded its full-year pre-tax profit gui

Fall in third quarter vaccine salesFull year profit reiteratedQ3 dividend of 15p per shareDisappointing vaccine sales took the shine off GSK's (GSK) third quarter update and despite management reiterating full-year sales and profit guidance, the shares sank to the bottom of the FTSE, falling 3.6% to £13.99.The shares languish near one-year lows and sit just 14% above the five-year low, which mean

Stocks in Europe were mostly lower on Wednesday morning, ahead of the UK budget announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, while Standard Chartered rose after it said it delivered a strong performance.Ahead of the budget, the pound was quoted at $1.3020 early Wednesday, rising from $1.2991 at the London equities close on Tuesday.Brown Brothers Harriman analysts believe the pound faces 'downside ris

Stock hits three-month high $181Cloud and YouTube shineAI a battlefield for AlphabetOut of the mega tech blocks first - excluding Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) ? Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) calmed nerves on Wall Street after-hours Tuesday (29 Oct) with a sharp acceleration in Google Cloud's third-quarter growth rate, while election spending also boosted advertisement sales, especially on YouTube. Going from the

Stocks in London ended Tuesday in the red, weighed down by some pre-budget uncertainty, while indices on Wall Street were mixed following US economic data, ahead of earnings from Alphabet.The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.01 points, or 0.8%, at 8,219.61. The FTSE 250 ended down 212.31 points, or 1.0%, at 20,622.79, and the AIM All-Share closed down 5.31 points, or 0.7%, at 715.79.The Cboe UK 100 e

Revenue and profit ahead of guidancePositive contribution from CPS acquisitionImproving momentum going into 2025Shares in online research data and analytics group YouGov (YOU:AIM) jumped more than 10% to 441p after revealing better-than-expected full-year revenue and profit and predicting a pick-up in sales bookings.The stock is down 64% so far in 2024 following a profit warning in June when the c