Now the ballots have been cast at the general election, the UK could become the 'reassuringly boring' market, both politically and fiscally, when compared to the more extreme politics on the other side of the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean.So suggests Jean Roche, manager of the Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP), who notes capital allocators know more or less what to expect, which could explain th

Blue chips were in demand at midday on Friday, ahead of a US inflation print later in the session, which is expected to show a softening of the core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge.The FTSE 100 index traded 46.01 points higher, 0.6%, at 8,225.69. The FTSE 250 rose 50.55 points, 0.3%, at 20,382.352, while the AIM All-Share climbed 1.52 points, 0.2%, at 765.99.The Cboe UK 100 rose

London's FTSE 100 made a decent start to the final trading day of the quarter, and cooler-than-expected US data could offer it impetus for further gains.The blue-chip benchmark in Paris struggled, however, as pre-election nerves kicked in.The US data is released at 1330 BST. The core personal consumption expenditures inflation gauge is expected to have faded to 2.6% in May, from 2.8% in April, acc

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATURE Thomas Moore, Manager, abrdn Equity Income TrustThe FTSE 100 has hit new highs in recent weeks as M&A and buyback activity has revivedSmaller companies are also seeing M&A and buybacks, but remain neglectedThere is the potential for a significant revival in unloved smaller companiesAfter a tough few years, the UK market has been showing signs of life over recent mo

London?s FTSE 100 achieved a record close on Monday, as sabre-rattling in the Middle East began to die down, while the pound struggled on renewed hope that the Bank of England is taming UK inflation.Among individual shares, there was some M&A impetus for Tyman and Hipgnosis Songs Fund. A bullish broker note lifted some UK high street and grocer stalwarts, though model train maker Hornby went off t

Investors in London showed confidence on Monday, as Ocado boosted the FTSE 100 despite shareholder pressure to move its listing to the US, while takeover talks drove Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Tyman in the FTSE 250.Amongst individual stocks, Ocado boosted the FTSE 100 on pressure to move to the US. The FTSE 250 got a boost from takeover talks for both Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Tyman.The FTSE 100 inde

Deal represents a 35% premiumOffer includes a share elementFirms cite ?strong commercial logic?Building products group Tyman (TYMN) is the latest UK mid-cap to attract a trade buyer with US firm Quanex (NX:NYSE) offering 400p per share for the business in a mix of cash and stock.Tyman shares jumped 29% to 381p although volumes were fairly light compared with previous days. SUBSTANTIAL SHARE

Stock prices in London improved at the open on Monday, with FTSE 250 stocks Hipgnosis and Tyman rising on news of prospective takeovers for both firms, while investors more widely shook off nerves ahead of a key US inflation reading later this week.The FTSE 100 index opened up 96.75 points, 1.2%, at 7,992.60. The FTSE 250 was up 152.32 points, 0.8%, at 19,543.62, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.13

Firmly out of favour with investors since the Brexit vote seven years ago, the FTSE 250 index rallied strongly on the release of the latest UK inflation data (19 July). This showed UK CPI rising by 7.9% year-on-year in June, lower than forecasts of an 8.2% rise, theoretically reducing expectations for the scale of future interest rate hikes from the Bank of England.Yet even after a big one-day jum

Stocks in London declined at midday on Wednesday after a busy morning of earnings, ahead of a key interest rate decision from the US in the evening.The FTSE 100 index was down 42.35 points, 0.6%, at 7,649.45. The FTSE 250 was down 52.76 points, 0.3%, at 19,097.12, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.23 of a points at 765.77.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.6% at 762.99, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 16,

The influential mining sector helped prop up the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, with shares in the likes of Anglo American and Rio Tinto boosted by good news out of China.The mood was largely cautious, however, as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day monetary policy meeting Tuesday, ahead of an expected 25 basis point rate hike on Wednesday.Elsewhere, shares in Ben & Jerry's ice cream maker Unilever go

All eyes on earnings and dividends as housebuilders report next monthInvestors will be hoping activity picks up and payouts are at least maintainedAfter analysts at Deutsche Bank recently cut their recommendations on four leading housebuilders, investors will be keen to hear from Persimmon (PSN) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.).Persimmon, which reports full-year earnings on 1 March, revealed in November it

Russia's move to cut gas supplies to Germany has undermined market sentiment at the start of the new week, though trading on Monday is likely to be limited due to a holiday in the US.On Friday, Gazprom said that a gas pipeline to Germany - which was due to reopen at the weekend - would remain shut until a turbine is repaired, cutting off indefinitely an energy supply route to Europe.In a statement

- Index changes to be announced tonight- Three new names to join the FTSE 100- Four new faces in the mid-cap FTSE 250Investors with FTSE tracker funds will be keenly waiting for details of the latest index reshuffle due to be published after the market close tonight.As well as changes to the FTSE 100 big-cap index there are expected to be several changes to the FTSE 250 mid-cap benchmark and the F

It is one thing for analysts to forecast which stocks and sectors will do well in a rising-rate or inflationary environment, but when it actually comes to pass it's always fascinating to see what works in practice.Judging by the list of stocks making 12-month highs over the past week, those who favoured real assets were on the money.Standing tall are 3i Infrastructure (3IN), AEW UK REIT (AEWU), GC

Both the FTSE 100 index of leading shares and the mid-cap FTSE 250 Index ended Wednesday's trading session in negative territory as concerns regarding UK inflationary pressures mounted.The CPI (consumer price index) rose to a near 10 year high in October of 4.2% from 3.1% in September and is likely to increase further during the rest of the year.Weakness in US equity markets also weighed as invest

London's major stocks opened modestly lower as the inflation genie continues to work its way out of the bottle, although banks defied the gravitational pull.At 9am, the benchmark FTSE 100 was 0.13% down at 7,317.61 after UK inflation rose to its highest in almost a decade. But there was plenty of demand for bank stocks, seen as benefitting from an increasingly likely rise in interest rates, with L

One of the very few positive effects of last year's pandemic was an increase in consumers spending on the repair, maintenance and improvement of their flats and houses.Having been confined indoors for months at a time, it didn't take long for people to set about redecorating and adding more indoor or outdoor space so they could live and work remotely more comfortably.That led to an explosion in pr

UK stocks closed lower on Tuesday as global markets were rattled by increasing regulatory interference from the Chinese authorities.Better than expected consumer confidence data in the US wasn't enough to prevent stocks retreating across the board with the Nasdaq 100 falling close to 2% in early trading ahead of earnings updates from big tech heavyweights Microsoft and Alphabet after the close.At

UK stocks regained some poise Tuesday lunchtime, recovering steep early losses as global markets were spooked by a Chinese crackdown on education, food delivery and property companies and worries state intervention could be extended to the technology sector.At 12pm the FTSE index of leading shares was down 0.4% to 7,000 points.DOWNDRAFTScottish Mortgage Trust (SMT), one of Britain's biggest invest