Commodities and banks drag FTSE 100 lower – London Report February 10, 2015 BRITAIN’S top equity index drifted lower yesterday, hit by a drop in banks and commodity stocks, although improved sales for battered supermarkets lent support to the market. Fresh signs of economic weakness in China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals, hit mining companies, with the FTSE 350 Mining Index down 2.8 per cent. It closed [...]
HSBC scandal takes the spark out of the FTSE – London Report February 9, 2015 THE UK’s top share index edged lower yesterday, hurt by a fall in HSBC after the bank admitted tax failings at its Swiss unit and by softer utility stocks. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 per cent, or 16.29 points, at 6,837.15 points by the close, with United Utilities, National Grid and Severn Trent [...]
BT deal and oil resurgance lead to late FTSE rally – London Report February 5, 2015 THE FTSE 100 recovered from earlier losses, as a late rally yesterday in crude oil prices boosted energy stocks and telecom firm BT Group advanced after its strategic acquisition of mobile operator EE. The UK Oil and Gas index rose 1.2 per cent after crude jumped about 5 per cent on falling output and rising [...]
FTSE comes off recent gains as oil stocks hit – London Report February 4, 2015 THE FTSE 100 retreated from five-month highs yesterday as oil stocks slipped, while investment company Hargreaves Lansdown fell after its interim profits declined. The premier index closed down by 0.2 per cent at 6,860.02 points, after reaching its highest level since September on Tuesday. Hargreaves fell 7.6 per cent, the worst-performing FTSE 100 stock in [...]
Female representation: FTSE 100 companies edge towards 25 pc target – but some fall behind February 4, 2015 The UK's biggest companies are making progress when it comes to having a greater number of women on their boards. Or at least, some of them are. Old Mutual was today named the FTSE 100 company that made the most progress in having female board representation in the last four years. The investment firm increased [...]
BP beats earnings expectations and brings FTSE up too – London Report February 3, 2015 OIL COMPANIES, led by giant BP’s better-than-expected earnings report, bolstered the top index yesterday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended up 1.3 per cent at 6,871.80 points, near its highest level since September 2014. Intertek, whose services include testing products to make sure they comply with safety standards, rose 6.5 per cent – the best-performing FTSE [...]
Aggregates firm CRH lifts FTSE as oil drama goes on – London Report February 2, 2015 Irish building supplies groups CRH offset a drop in airlines after Ryanair warned on its profit outlook to push the FTSE index higher yesterday. Shares in CRH, one of the top gainers in the FTSE 100 index , rose 7.2 per cent after the company said it had agreed to pay €6.5bn (£4.9bn) for assets [...]
Oil lows hurt Shell but give EasyJet an easy ride on FTSE – London Report January 29, 2015 OIL GIANT Royal Dutch Shell weighed heavily on the FTSE-100 yesterday after it missed profit expectations. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended down 0.2 per cent at 6,810.60 points as Shell dropped 4.9 per cent, among the worst-performing FTSE 100 stocks in percentage terms. The company also announced a $15bn (£9.9bn) cut in spending due [...]
FTSE creeps higher as miners dig deep after price recovery – London Report January 28, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index edged slightly higher yesterday, with miners gaining ground following a recovery in prices of key industrial metals such as copper and aluminium. The blue chip FTSE 100 index, which climbed to its highest level since mid-September on Tuesday, closed 0.2 per cent higher at 6,825.94 points. The UK mining index rose [...]
Greek debt fear makes banks drag FTSE down – London Report January 27, 2015 BANKS led the FTSE 100 index lower yesterday as they slipped on concerns the Greek crisis could spread while miners fell with weaker metals prices. It ended the blue-chip index’s eight-session run to a four-month high on Monday. Mid-cap oil producer Afren plunged 71 per cent after saying it was in talks with its largest [...]