Market Pulse
Allergy Therapeutics raises £12m to develop peanut and dust mite treatments
Shares in Allergy Therapeutics fell as, despite a strong trading update, the company launched a £12m discounted fundraising to speed development of treatments for peanut allergy and house dust mites allergies.
Sector movers: Natural resource stocks tumble but market rebounds
Natural resource stocks tumbled again on Tuesday, but the wider market saw an uptick courtesy of financial, defence and aerospace stocks.
Commodities: Oil, metal futures fail to escape recent levels
Oil and metal futures saw lacklustre trading on Tuesday, staying near recent levels hounded by oversupply issues, Japan’s entry into a recession and persistent concerns about China’s demand.
London close: Stocks rise sharply as euro slips on QE hopes
Stocks barreled ahead amid fresh gains on Wall Street, a large move lower in the single currency and diplomatic moves by France to broaden the coalition against Islamic State.
FX Roundup: Yen continues decline against dollar
The dollar continued its uptick against the yen on Tuesday, a day after Japan entered a technical recession.
BP explores sale of Alabama petrochemical facility
Oil giant BP is exploring the sale of its petrochemicals complex in Decatur, Alabama, as part of a broader reorganisation of the company’s global petrochemicals business.
Europe close: Stocks rally on strong economic data and stimulus hopes
European equities rallied on Tuesday as investors cheered encouraging German data and signs that further stimulus from the European Central Bank may be on the cards.
Coats Group sales hit by currency headwinds
Industrial thread and consumer textile crafts company Coats Group attributed a decline in sales in the year to date to strong currency headwinds.
Wednesday preview: FOMC minutes could firm December hike expectations
After a quiet day for scheduled economic data and UK company reports, Wednesday's main market movements will likely come from geopolitical developments, with the US Federal Reserve providing interest after European markets close.
Broker tips: Ophir Energy, Tesco, Sainsbury, Talk Talk
Ophir Energy surged after Credit Suisse upped its stance on the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’ and lifted the price target to 100p from 90p following the capital markets day.
End of an era as FHM and Zoo halt publication
It looks as though the lads' mag - a phenomenon that dominated the men's magazine market in the late 1990s - may finally have had its day, with Bauer Media's decision to stop publishing FHM and Zoo by the end of the year.
Citi upgrades Tesco but downgrades Sainsbury and Morrison
Citi has upgraded Tesco to 'buy' but downgraded Sainsbury's to 'neutral' and Morrison to 'sell' as the UK supermarket's big players jostle for position against the fast-expanding discounters in the ongoing industry price war.
Ophir Energy shares rise on Credit Suisse upgrade
Ophir Energy surged after Credit Suisse upped its stance on the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’ and lifted the price target to 100p from 90p following the capital markets day.
France invokes EU's mutual assistance clause
On Tuesday, French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian invoked the European Union’s ‘mutual assistance clause’, according to Reuters.
Long-US dollar trade is overcrowded, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch survey finds
October’s stronger-than-expected US jobs report drove fund managers back into equities in December and led to a sharp increase in expectations for a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve next month, but that meant there were few investors left to push stocks higher, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in its November fund manager survey.
Rightster Group directors given shares as part of acquisition deal
A number of Rightster Group directors walked away with a bonus share package on Tuesday.
US homebuilders remain confident in November
Sentiment among US house builders declined slightly more than expected in November but remained in positive territory.
Russia launches new air strikes as Syrian government forces make push
Russian forces carried out airstrikes on Islamic state positions in Syria on Tuesday as Syrian government forces made a push across their entire frontline.
Defence stocks fired up by European security spending hopes
Increased expectations of a security spending blitz in Europe as a result of the Paris attacks has driven up the shares of companies with a defence focus such as BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.
Renold jumps as interim pre-tax profit edges higher
Shares in Renold jumped on Tuesday, after the power transmission company producer said its interim pre-tax profit rose despite a challenging market environment.