Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

London's FTSE 100 closed in the green on Tuesday, though more subdued in the afternoon against its morning highs, as US stocks were shaken by weak consumer confidence data.The FTSE 100 index closed up 9.69 points, 0.1%, at 8,668.67. The FTSE 250 ended down 36.11 points, 0.2%, at 20,448.28, while the AIM All-Share closed down 2.82 points, 0.4%, at 708.06.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 867.14,...

Stock prices in London opened mixed on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 up a notch despite Unilever shares falling as its Chief Executive Officer Hein Schumacher is set to leave the company.Separately, US President Donald Trump's claimed that tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports are moving forward as planned, following last month's last-minute pause which ends next Tuesday.The...

What a mixed year this has turned out to be for Shares' best ideas for 2024.That our one star turn stock was an annuities and lifetime mortgage specialist, even if it was 'screamingly cheap at its current price', as we originally noted, and the supposedly exciting tech growth picks have been dull-to-dismal, might make you hark back to school days studies of Christopher Hill's The World Turned...

Full-year guidance reducedChina to remain a dragStronger margin gains from 2025Smith & Nephew (SN.) sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index, falling 13% to a new six-month low of 956.78p after the knee and hip implants maker lowered full-year revenue growth guidance on China headwinds.The shares are down around 11% for the year, compared with a 5% gain for the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. ...

First half profit ahead of expectationsStrong cash generationFull year guidance reiteratedGlobal medical technology company Smith & Nephew (SN.) notched-up a new 12-month high of £12.30 as the shares leapt 10% following a strong first half which came in ahead of market forecasts.The rally takes gains for the year ahead of the FTSE 100, but the shares remain roughly 35% below pre-pandemic...

Now that the dust has settled after the UK elections and attention has turned back to markets, we have updated the performance stats on our tips for 2024. Overall, our picks have gained 8.7% year-to-date compared with an 8.3% rise in the FTSE All-Share. That's not to say it has been plain sailing ? our returns range from a gain of almost 60% to a loss of more than 40%, the latter is in a US...

Stocks in London closed mostly higher on Thursday as investors awaited the outcome of the UK general election.Pollsters currently have Labour waking up to a majority, marking the first time that the party has been in power since 2010.The FTSE 100 index closed up 70.14 points, or 0.9%, at 8,241.26. The FTSE 250 ended up 80.92 points, or 0.4%, at 20,610.34, while the AIM All-Share closed...

Stock prices in London were higher at midday Thursday, as voters continue to turn out at poll stations to deliver what is expected to be a general election victory for the Labour party for the first time since 2005.The FTSE 100 index was up 66.66 points, or 0.8%, at 8,237.46. The FTSE 250 was up 41.98 points, or 0.2%, at 20,571.24, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.67 points, or 0.1%, at...

Activist Cevian builds 5% stakeSees significant long term valueShares jump 7%Medical products maker Smith & Nephew (SN.) topped the FTSE leader board with the shares jumping 7% to £10.5 after activist investor Cevian Capital disclosed a 5% stake, making it the second largest shareholder in the group.The shares are down around 13% over the last 12-months compared with a 7% gain in the FTSE 100...

The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 were in the green on Thursday morning, with Brits heading to polling stations to vote in the general election.Based on surveys leading up to election day, it looks like Labour will win a majority, ousting the Tory's after nearly a decade and a half in power.Across the channel, French voters went to the polls for the first round of the legislative election on Sunday,...

First-quarter sales miss forecastsFull-year growth and margins confirmedStrong growth from emerging marketsSmith & Nephew (SN.) topped the FTSE gainers on Wednesday, rising 3.4% to £10.16 despite medical equipment maker missing first quarter sales estimates due to soft trading in its Advanced Wound Management franchise.Year-to-date the shares continue to lag the FTSE 100, falling 5% compared...

Our portfolio of picks for 2024 is off to a solid start in what proved an uneven first quarter for the stock market as a whole.Our return of 9% is comfortably ahead of our FTSE All-Share benchmark at 3.9%. It?s a tale of feast and famine, however, with half of our selections achieving double-digit gains while 40% are in the red.!function(){"use...

At the centre of the current boom in generative AI (artificial intelligence) is chip maker Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ).It designs some of the fastest computer chips in the world which are needed to run data hungry LLMs (large language models) capable of understanding natural language.Readers may be familiar with Nvidia's historical link to the gaming industry, but less familiar with the US giant's...

Stocks in London headed into the long weekend on the front foot, outperforming their European peers.Markets in London will now shut for two public holidays, Good Friday and Easter Monday. They will reopen on Tuesday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 20.64 points, 0.3%, at 7,952.62. The FTSE 250 ended up 74.07 points, 0.4%, at 19,884.73, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.15 points, or 0.2%, at...

Investors looking for continued sales momentumConsensus earnings estimates have been revised upLooking for signs of improving marginsInvestors will be interested to see if sales momentum has continued into the final quarter at global medical technology company Smith & Nephew (SN.) when it reports next week (27 Feb).Running into the Q4 and full-year numbers the shares have started to outperform...

Tentative signs of sustainable margin improvement and market share gains, combined with the tailwind provided by continued recovery in elective procedures, should provide medical products company Smith & Nephew (SN.) with positive momentum heading into 2024.The shares are trading close to 10-year lows, and from a valuation perspective have rarely offered better value relative to the UK market...

AdobeIt may look like odd timing to back Adobe (ADBE:NASDAQ) just after lukewarm guidance, but we think this is a great opportunity.The creative digital software firm called for fiscal 2024 earnings per share of $17.60 to $18 on $21.3 billion to $21.5 billion revenue, a little light compared with the consensus of $18 and $21.7 billion revenue respectively.The shares plunged 7%, which seemed...

Third-quarter revenue up 7.7%Full-year growth forecast increasedNew finance chief appointedMedical products-maker Smith & Nephew (SN.) was one of the top gainers in the FTSE 100 on Thursday, up 5% after delivering strong third-quarter growth and raising its full-year outlook.Underlying revenue for the three months to 30 September grew 7.7% to $1.4 billion driven by broad-based growth across...

Medical device and prosthetics specialist Smith & Nephew (SN.) is one of those businesses which you think should do well because it operates in a market with demographics on its side.An ageing population is likely to need an increasing number of knee and hip replacements, creating bigger demand for Smith & Nephew's expertise. However, the company's execution over the years has been patchy,...