Market Pulse
London close: Stocks slip on UK election, US jobless claims
London stocks ended lower on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street's decline as jobless claims in the US fell more than anticipated.
AJ Bell founder Andy Bell to sell 7.5m shares in placing
AJ Bell said late on Thursday that founder Any Bell plans to sell around 7. 5m ordinary shares in the investment platform in a placing.
Broker tips: Unilever, Integrafin
JPMorgan Cazenove double-upgraded Unilever on Thursday to 'overweight' from 'underweight' and hiked its price target on the stock to 5,100. 0p from 3,600. 0p after several years of caution on the equity story.
James Gorman to leave Morgan Stanley at end of year
Morgan Stanley executive chairman James Gorman announced on Thursday that he would step down from his role at the end of the year, in remarks at the bank's annual shareholder meeting.
FTSE 100 movers: St James's Place rallies; NatWest in the red
London's FTSE 100 was down 0. 4% in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Activist fund Palliser urges Rio Tinto to ditch London listing
Activist hedge fund Palliser Capital urged Rio Tinto to shift its primary stock market listing from London to Sydney, it emerged on Thursday, to potentially increase its share price by nearly 40%.
Director dealings: SSP CEO raises stake
SSP revealed on Thursday that chief executive Patrick Coveney had acquired 40,000 ordinary shares in the FTSE 250-listed food and beverage outlet operator.
Avacta reports further progress in chemotherapy trial
Avacta Group announced the successful completion of the first cohort and the start of dosing for three patients in the second cohort of the second arm in its phase one trial of AVA6000, a peptide drug conjugate form of doxorubicin chemotherapy, on Thursday.
Cohort ends year slightly ahead of expectations
Technology company Cohort said in a trading update on Thursday that its full-year performance was slightly ahead of expectations, with growth in both revenue and profits year-on-year.
US open: Stocks mixed following Nvidia earnings, data points
Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday as investors digested a number of data points and earnings from chipmaker Nvidia.
Berenberg ups target price on Integrafin
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Integrafin shares from 360. 0p to 390. 0p on Thursday following the group's interim results a day earlier.
Moto owner CVC planning sale - report
The owners of Moto, one of Britain's biggest operators of motorway service stations, are reportedly preparing to put the company up for sale for more than £2bn.
Royal Mail owner IDS delays results amid takeover bid
Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services said on Thursday that it has had to delay the publication of its full-year results - which were originally due on Thursday morning - after auditor KPMG requested additional time to complete procedures.
US jobless claims fall to 215,000
Americans lined up for state unemployment benefits at a decelerated clip in the week ended 18 May, according to the Labor Department.
EU slaps Mondelez with €337.5m fine
Oreo cookie and Cadbury Dairy Milk parent Mondelez has been fined €337. 5m by the European Commission for hindering trade between European Union countries in order to keep prices high.
Turkey central bank holds rates at 50%
Turkey’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 50% on Thursday for the second month in a row, as expected.
NatWest share sale plan on hold after election called
NatWest was trading lower on Thursday following reports that plans for a sale of shares in the bank to the general public have been put on hold after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for 4 July.
HSBC fined £6.3m over treatment of customers in financial difficulty
HSBC has been fined nearly £6. 3m by the Financial Conduct Authority over its treatment of customers in financial difficulty.
US pre-open: Futures higher following Nvida's Q1 earnings
Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell as investors cheered the latest set of quarterly earnings from chipmaker Nvidia after the close.
London midday: Stocks flat but Hargreaves Lansdown surges on takeover approach
London stocks were little changed by midday on Thursday as investors got their first chance to react to news of a general election on 4 July, with Hargreaves Lansdown powering ahead after rejecting a takeover offer.