Market Pulse
US close: Wall St lifted for second day by oil and banks
Wall Street drove higher for a second day as big bank stocks and rising oil and house prices overrode a slowdown in the service sector.
Financials, big oil, miners pace gains in London
Financials and big oil continued to power ahead at the middle of the week as the threat from two of the market´s most recent bugbears appeared to receed a little.
Commodities: Oil moves back towards $50 a barrel after US inventory data
Crude oil futures pushed closer towards the pyschological $50 a barrel mark, riding higher on the coat-tails of the latest US Department of Energy data which revealed a 4. 2m barrel reduction in the country´s commercial oil stockpiles during the latest week.
Director dealings: Coca-Cola private equity backers can shares
Coca-Cola HBC directors Anastasios and Christo Leventis, major shareholders connected with the New Argen private equity group, confirmed they had sold £15. 4m worth of shares.
FX round-up: Traders on watch for break-out in cable
Fresh poll results pointing to a better chance of the 'Remain' camp coming out on top at the upcoming referendum on EU membership and a respite in the US dollar´s recent run higher combined to push cable towards a significant level of so-called technical resistance.
Europe close: Stocks rise as risk-apettite picks up
European stocks racked up healthy gains on Wednesday, underpinned by rising oil prices, Greece’s deal with creditors and a better-than-expected reading on German business confidence.
Small caps news round-up
Imaginatik shares fell on Wednesday after the software company proposed a £2. 1m fundraising to boost its balance sheet. The group will raise the funds by way of placing 63,263,520 new ordinary shares worth £1. 6m and an open offer of up to 21,277,896 new ordinary shares worth £0. 53m.
Thursday preview: Tate & Lyle reports finals
Tate & Lyle is expected on Thursday to report a decline in full year profits on foreign exchange headwinds as the food ingredients company undergoes a restructuring.
Circassia to report Phase 3 trial results for cat allergy treatment in coming weeks
Circassia Pharmaceuticals kicked off phase-three trials for its grass allergy treatment, the second imunotherapy programme for which it was seeking regulatory approval, and said it was on-track to report the results of its phase-three clinical trials for its Cat allergy treatment using its SPIRE technology platform.
Wednesday newspaper share tips: Severn Trent, IGas
Shares in Severn Trent are best avoided as investors´ search for yield has driven down the dividend yield on offer, The Times´s Tempus said.
London close: Stocks gain on oil price rally, Greek bailout deal
UK stocks rallied on Wednesday as oil prices rose and Greece’s creditors agreed to unlock further bailout funds.
FTSE 100 movers: Financials, Big oil pace gains
Financials were again to be found near the top of the leaderboard on Wednesday with shares of 'big oil' firms nipping at their heels.
M&S warns clothing turnaround plan will hit short-term profit
Full-year profits at Marks & Spencer fell 18. 5% as new chief executive Steve Rowe engaged in what appeared to be some canny 'kitchen sinking', warning that the current year's profits will be hit by his plan to turnaround the clothing business.
US open: Stocks rise as oil prices rally
US stocks advanced on Wednesday as oil prices rose after data showed a drop in crude inventories to ease the global supply glut.
Unite Group brings forward new CEO's start date
Student accommodation developer and manager Unite Group said the start date for new chief executive officer Richard Smith has been brought forward by a month to 1 June.
FTSE 250 movers: Serco surges but Stagecoach drops on downgrade
London FTSE 250 index was up 0. 6% to 17,235. 70 in afternoon trade.
US goods trade deficit rises less than expected in April
America´s trade deficit with the rest of the world did not increase as sharply as expected in April, which might help to boost economic growth in the second quarter of 2016, economists said.
Serco sees full-year profit ahead of market expectations
Shares in Serco surged on Wednesday after the FTSE 250 outsourcing company said it expects underlying trading profit for 2016 to be ahead of current market forecasts following a stronger-than-anticipated start to the year.
Stada surges on report of buyout talks with CVC
Shares in Stada Arzneimittel AG shot higher on Wednesday following a report the German drug maker has held informal talks with private equity firm CVC Capital partners regarding a potential buyout.
Thomas Cook crew to strike over breaks, Hotels4u launches VAT claim
Thomas Cook cabin crew have voted to go on strike over a dispute with management over proposed changes to break times.