Stock prices in London were driven lower at midday on Wednesday, as mixed UK inflation figures sparked further concern among investors about the Bank of England's next interest rate decision.The FTSE 100 index was down 18.63 points, 0.3%, at 7,371.01. The FTSE 250 was down 0.59 of a point at 18,659.16, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.86 points, 0.3%, at 748.07.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 734

Following a few days in the red, when investors reacted to a US credit rating cut by Fitch Ratings and further monetary policy tightening from the Bank of England, London stocks ended the week in the green on Friday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 35.21 points, or 0.5% at 7,564.37 on Friday, but ended the week down 1.7%.The FTSE 250 ended up 100.97 points, or 0.5%, at 18,934.62, and finished the week

Stocks closed largely down in London on Tuesday as the FTSE 100 dropped into the red despite US President Joe Biden and House speaker Kevin McCarthy reaching an agreement to temporarily suspend the US debt ceiling.The FTSE 100 index closed down 105.13 points, or 1.4% at 7,522.07 on Tuesday in the first day of trade following a long weekend.Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 ended up 13.28 points, or 0.1%, at

Sterling is on a comeback trail against the dollar, reaching 11-month highs against the US currency on divergent rate expectations. The move to reclaim the $1.25 mark is a combination of strength in the pound and weakness in the dollar.The recent banking crisis started across the Atlantic with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the US regional banking sector is perceived as more vulnerable th

This year may be one that people wish to forget and instead look to next year when some sense of normality might return. However, it wasn't all bad news with a few global stock markets and investment themes notching up stellar returns.Heightened volatility has meant that the divergence between the winners and losers has been especially wide so far in 2020, with the best almost doubling and the wor

UK stocks have responded positively to Prime Minister Theresa May's success in fending off a leadership challenge with the FTSE 100 index climbing 0.3% to 6,902 points.Supporting the index are banks, life insurers, miners and utilities while oil producers, oil services and industrial metals lag.Topping the FTSE is travel operator TUI (TUI) whose shares jump 5% to £11.90 as the company reports ful

MARKET CAP: £1BN & ABOVE OCADO +101%Shares in Ocado (OCDO) have doubled in value in 2018 as the company made progress with signing international contracts where it sets up large distribution centres to enable online grocery services.Building on a 2017 tie-up with France's Groupe Casino, Ocado has this year signed deals with Canada's Sobeys, Sweden's ICA and most significant of all, with US grocer

The shares of 27 AIM companies have doubled or better so far in 2018. For those that don't know, AIM is the Alternative Investment Market, the junior trading platform of the stock market designed to nurture small, growth companies.While the rewards can be substantial, so are the risks, a point illustrated by Bahamas Petroleum (BPC:AIM) today. Its stock tanked more than 60% on Friday 24 August afte

The FTSE 100 opens up 27 points to 7,584 despite fears of a rising pound's impact on the index's constituents. The Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates the same yesterday was widely priced in by the market despite some hawkish tones from certain members of the Monetary Policy Committee.Asset manager River & Mercantile (RIV) gains 2p to 280p after opening a new office in Australia to c

The FTSE has so far managed to keep its chin up on the final day of trading in 2017. At 9am the blue chip index traded 10 points higher at 7,632.Topping the leader board was Vectura (VEC), extending yesterday's rally amid vague bid rumours. Today it moved another 3.6% higher to 125.85p.Among the mid and large caps, Wizz Air (WIZZ) signed an agreement to buy 146 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft. They

Having hit a new record high during yesterday's session, the FTSE 100 today advances by a further seven points to 7,628. Miners and financial companies led the way including a 1.4% gain from Anglo American (AAL) and 1.1% hike from Old Mutual (OML).There was a notable absence of trading updates and financial results from large and mid-cap stocks.Among the select pieces of mid-cap news was further s

London's blue-chip benchmark firms 31.4 points to 7,341.4 on Monday, opening on the front foot following a generally positive session on Wall Street on Friday, as investors around the world appeared to be coming to terms with the ongoing tensions between the US and North Korea.Corporate news is fairly thin on the ground, although one eye-catching mover is smart home technology tiddler LightwaveRF

Woking-based Fidessa (FDSA) is a global leader in trading software systems to financial institutions, has a customer base spread across the four corners of the globe and 86% recurring revenues, underpinning its fine cash generation reputation. It is good at what it does.But the questions investors should be asking remain the same as they have for several years; is there any hope of returning to pa

Investors in the UK are hungry for overseas exposure amid concerns about the domestic economy. The obvious route has been to buy funds focused on emerging markets and the US. The former has cheap equity valuations; the latter is enjoying positive momentum with its stock markets and the economy is holding up.There is certainly merit in having exposure to these geographies but don't limit yourself t

The leading indicators for anyone serving the housing market suggest troubles ahead. Mortgage approvals are falling on tighter lending rules, house prices are easing back, and housing transaction volumes are slowing. As a builders merchant and DIY retailer, Travis Perkins (TPK) is very exposed to changing conditions, hence why the shares are struggling.The FTSE 100 constituent has declined by 20%