Market Pulse
Commodities: Oil spikes 5% on inventory drawdown, Keystone outage
Oil futures rose by over 5% on Friday, as long trades gained traction once again on the back of an unexpected US crude inventories dip and the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline stateside.
Bryan Collings steps down as non-exec at fastjet
Bryan Collings has resigned as a non-executive director at fastjet with immediate effect.
EKF Diagnostics appoints chairman
The AIM-listed point-of-care business EKF Diagnostics Holdings has appointed Christopher Mills as non-executive chairman with immediate effect.
Small caps news round-up
4D Pharma announced a major acquisition on Friday, gobbling up the production assets of Spanish-based contract research organisation Biomar. The AIM-traded pharmaceutical company, which focuses on the development of live biotherapeutics, said Biomar had been working as an outsourced development partner since 2014.
London close: Mining and energy stocks lead gains
The FTSE 100 closed higher on Friday as mining and energy shares rallied.
Europe close: Oil and bank stocks pace gains
European stocks rose on Friday, with gains in banks and oil stocks pacing gains as oil prices rebounded after the previous session’s losses.
Fresnillo non-executive director steps down
Rafael MacGregor intends to stand down as non-executive director at Fresnillo with immediate effect.
Edenville Energy chairman resigns
Edenville Energy non-executive chairman Sally Schofield has resigned after six years with the company.
Immedia surges on contract win
AIM-listed Immedia has signed a new five-year service contract with an unnamed “major global brand” for the supply of branded in-store music and marketing channels for an undisclosed sum.
Balance of risks to economy still lie slightly to the downside, Fed's Dudley says
Risks to the US economy had diminished since the start of 2016, but continued to be tilted slightly to the downside, a top US central bank official said on Friday.
Elementis slides on Berenberg downgrade
Shares in specialty chemicals firm Elementis slid on Friday as Berenberg downgraded its stance on the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target to 220p from 258p.
Friday newspaper share tips: Worldpay, Foxtons
Two of the original investors in Worldpay, private equity holders Advent International and Bain Capital, were allowed to dispose of a third of their stakes via a placing, with more to come, The Times’s Tempus pointed out to readers.
FTSE 250 movers: David Brent blows steam into Entertainment One
The FTSE 250 was comfortably in the black in afternoon trading on Friday, with oil prices heading upwards and investors seemingly nonchalant about a trade deficit that was wider than forecast.
FTSE 100 movers: Miners and energy stocks gain; Experian drops on downgrade
London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0. 9% to 6,189. 75 at 1430 BST, with resources pacing the advance.
Maintel reports 19% jump in annual pre-tax profit
Telecom and data services company Maintel reported a 19% jump in full year pre-tax profit as revenues were boosted following the acquisition of Proximity Communications.
SocGen highlights 11 stocks that could benefit from Euro 2016
Ahead of the UEFA European Football Championship that kicks off in June, Societe Generale highlighted a selection of stocks that could benefit from the tournament.
US open: Stocks egde higher as oil prices rally
US stocks gained on Friday as oil prices rallied after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the US was headed for more economic growth.
Week ahead: Raft of consumer price data due out from across the globe
A raft of consumer price data due out from across the globe over the coming week may be the focal point for markets, given they are one of the key drivers behind movements in exchange rates.
Broker tips: M&S, Experian, Schroders
Marks & Spencer was upgraded to ‘buy’ from ‘speculative buy’ by Canaccord Genuity on Friday after the retailer reported its fourth quarter results.