Stock prices in London were mostly in the red at midday on Monday, as Pod Point shares dived as it lamented an ongoing weakness in the private new car segment of the electric vehicle market.'Markets are beating to the drum of Donald Trump on the day of his return to the White House,' commented AJ Bell's Russ Mould. 'Markets are eagerly awaiting Trump's first batch of executive orders as this will

Recent deterioration in tradingProfit guidance cut by £2.5 millionMomentum in high margin licensingShares in Sanderson Design (SDG:AIM) sank 16% to a two-year low of 45.5p after the luxury interior furnishings firm disappointed the market with a second profit warning in eight months, after the hoped-for improvement in trading on which previously downgraded guidance was based failed to materialise

Stocks in London opened mixed but the blue chip FTSE 100 was in the green early Monday, with Pershing Square up as it announced it will pay dividends for every quarter of 2025.Financial markets are closed in the US on Monday to mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to officially take office.The FTSE 100 index opened up 16.47 points, 0.2%, at 8,521.69. The F

London stocks ended higher on Friday, and the FTSE 100 index rose to a new peak as the pound traded lower after tepid UK data.The FTSE 100 index jumped 113.32 points, 1.4%, at 8,505.22. It had earlier reached a new intra-day high of 8,533.43.The FTSE 250 ended 69.72 points higher, 0.3%, at 20,597.42, and the AIM All-Share advanced 1.76 points, 0.3%, at 719.07.For the week, the FTSE 100 added 3.1%,

The FTSE 100 reached a new all-time high on Friday, with stocks comfortably in the green at midday, after sound fourth quarter growth data from China, which beat the consensus.The FTSE 100 index was up 99.25 points, 1.2%, at 8,491.24. It had earlier reached a new intra-day high of 8,496.42.The FTSE 250 was 36.40 points higher, 0.2%, at 20,564.10, and the AIM All-Share advanced 1.87 points, 0.3%, a

Net revenue of circa £243 million, up 3.5%Shares up 15% over the past yearStrong net cash of circa £16 millionShares in M&C Saatchi (SAA) were up 6% to 189p in early trading as the advertising agency said it expects full year 2024 like-for-like net revenue growth of circa 3.5% with reported net revenue of £243 million.The company said trading in the second half of the year 'maintained first hal

Order intake up 10.1%Profits to be first-half weightedManagement cautious on strength of consumerSofa seller DFS Furniture (DFS) enjoyed better-than-forecast orders in the half to 29 December 2024 that included the Christmas run-in.As a result, DFS expects to deliver first-half pre-tax profits in the £16 million to £17 million range, nearly double the £9 million delivered last year.Yet despite

Stock prices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were higher on Friday morning despite underperforming UK retail sales, with miners boosting the FTSE 100 on the back of economic growth data from China.UK retail sales volumes decreased 0.3% month-on-month in December, worsening from 0.1% growth in November and falling far short of the FXStreet-cited market consensus of 0.4% growth.On an annual basis, re

European equities ended higher on Thursday, supported by strong corporate updates, while the pound struggled on soft UK economic data.US interest rate optimism continued to lift the mood after Wednesday's inflation reading, and one Federal Reserve official said rate cuts can come if the data continues to play ball.The FTSE 100 index shot up 90.77 points, 1.1%, at 8,391.90. The large-cap benchmark

Stock prices in London, Paris and Frankfurt were higher at midday Thursday, as investors await US weekly jobless claims data.UK gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in November, underperforming against the FXStreet-cited market consensus of 0.2% growth.Prime Minister Keir Starmer told broadcasters during a visit to Ukraine that the government would be 'unrelenting' in its pursuit of economic growt

Expects full year 2024 revenue growth of 18%Shares up 101% over the past yearNorth America bookings up 26%Shares in Trustpilot (TRST) were up more than 16% to 320p in morning trading as the online reviews and analytics platform said it is expecting to report revenue of $211 million for full year 2024, a rise of 18% compared to $176 million last year.Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxat

Growth slows in Q2Profits seen 'within the range' of expectationsDigital growing as share of salesHomewares retailer Dunelm (DNLM) said it delivered 'solid' sales growth in the first half to 28 December 2024, with sofas, dining chairs and coffee tables selling particularly well and digital sales penetration buoyed by strong Click and Collect sales.However, shares in the cushions-to-curtains seller

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 270pMarket cap: £1.05 billionWe aren't a willfully contrarian bunch at Shares, but now and then we come across a stock which seems so beaten-down with so much bad news priced in we just have to take a closer look.A case in point is FTSE 250 fast-food firm Domino's Pizza Group (DOM), the UK's leading pizza brand with over 1,360 stores in the UK and Ireland.Ironically, ei

Oil prices have hit a six-month high amid cold weather and new US sanctions on Russian sales of crude.This is not entirely bad news for the FTSE 100 given the heavy weighting of oil giants BP (BP.) and Shell (SHEL) in the index, but not for nothing is oil known as a tax on economic growth.Higher prices are likely to feed into higher inflation, which will only reinforce assumptions about interest r

The number of companies on London's AIM market worth more than £1 billion has hit a nine-year low. A mere six stocks were worth more than £1 billion at the end of November 2024 compared with 30 at the end of 2021.From those 30 companies and excluding those still worth more than £1 billion, seven have disappeared through takeovers, three have moved to the Main Market, and the rest have fallen be

Only a few more sleeps before we find out how Cranswick (CWK) fared over the seasonally-important Christmas period, with the UK food producer prepping its third-quarter trading statement for release on 21 January.Shares believes the update could stoke another round of forecast upgrades, since Cranswick continues to profit from its strong relationships and scale with the current winners in UK groce

ProCook (PROC) 37p Gain to date: 22%Kitchenware outfit ProCook (PROC) has continued to outperform its wider market since we said in October 2024 the company was a compelling recovery play.WHAT HAS HAPPENEND SINCE WE LAST SAID BUY?The shares have gained more than 20% benefiting from sales generated by its relaunch on Amazon [AMZN:NASDAQ] and a decent showing across Christmas and Black Friday. The

The normally sleepy world of investment trusts received a wake-up call just before Christmas with the publication (18 December 2024) of a shareholder letter by activist investor Saba Capital Management calling for change at no fewer than seven well-known funds.Set up by hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, Saba has a history of successfully instigating change, and while critics argue its proposals a

Exchange-traded funds are typically used to track indices like the FTSE 100 but there is a burgeoning list of products which look to tap different themes and even investment styles.This universe was recently added to with the launch of some new ETFs which look to track quality stocks.WHAT ARE THE NEW PRODUCTS?State Street Global Advisors is the name behind these two fresh additions ? SPDR S&P Dev

MIGO Opportunities (MIGO) 352pMarket cap: £71.25 millionDiscount to NAV: 4%With many investment trusts trading at deep discounts to NAV (net asset value), a great way to exploit the potential for discounts to narrow is by investing in specialist closed-end fund investor MIGO Opportunities Trust (MIGO).The company has a unique mandate within the sector aimed at exploiting pricing inefficiencies at