Market Report
US close: Wal-Mart and Apple lead modest rebound
US stocks rebounded on Thursday, as Wal-Mart and Apple gained and combined with economic data to boost the mood.
London close: Stocks retreat for second day as retail revives pound
London stocks ended Thursday down near where they finished last week as a stronger pound and worries about the stability of the US administration knocked them back from the record highs earlier in the week.
Friday preview: Hikma has chance to 'refocus'
Outside of Iran, where citizens head to the polls to pick the next president, Friday should be very quiet on the macroeconomic front and fairly relaxed on the company news calendar, though Hikma Pharmaceuticals has a chance to reassure investors after its recent US regulatory disappointment.
Europe close: Selling abates but stocks still end lower
Stocks on the Continent ended the day mostly lower but off their worst levels of the session even as investors reassesed the investment landscape following recent events in Washington.
Asda's quarterly sales improve again, WalMart at risk from Lidl launch
Asda's like-for-like sales continue to decline in the first quarter of the year, though US parent company Wal-Mart saw improvement in the underlying business.
Broker tips: ABF, Sophos Group, Tullow Oil
Analysts at Goldman Sachs raised their target price on shares of Associated British Foods, pointing to the company's differentiated positioning and potential upside from its Click & Collect model to back up their case.
Prudential unveils strong first quarter and Asia reshuffle
Prudential has reported strong first-quarter profits growth and a boardroom reshuffle, with finance chief Nic Nicandrou shifted over to manage the key Asia business and a 26-year Deloitte veteran appointed to take over as chief bean counter.
Asset sales, cash calls still possible at Tullow, Canaccord says
Canaccord Genuity trimmed its target on shares of Tullow Oil after revising its short-term 'price deck' for the price of Brent lower.
Dalata takes freeholds at two Dublin hotels
Dalata Hotel Group announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with Kieran Wallace as receiver to acquire the freehold interest of certain elements of the Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane in Dublin 2 and the Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley, also in Dublin, for a consideration of €62. 5m.
FTSE 250 movers: Berendsen surges on offer; Petrofac gushes lower
London’s FTSE 250 was down 0. 5% to 19,680. 61 in afternoon trade as investors kept a close eye on political developments across the pond.
US open: Stocks stabilise amid better than expected data
Stocks rebounded as the negative newsflow out of Washington eased and following the release of somewhat better than expected data on the jobs market and factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region.
FTSE 100 movers: Shire rallies on drug trial; Shell goes ex-div
London’s FTSE 100 was down 1% to 7,428. 79 in afternoon trade amid worries about US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trading in Brazilian stocks headed for rocky start, real crushed
Capital markets in Brazil were sent into a tailspin by allegations that president Michel Temer had sanctioned paying bribes to the main architect of ex-president Dilma Rousseff's ouster.
Shire rallies on positive HAE drug trial
Shire shares rallied on Thursday as the biopharmaceutical group said phase 3 results for its lanadelumab treatment for hereditary angioedema showed a significant reduction in the monthly attack rate.
Results round-up
Royal Mail reported a 25. 5% jump in full-year pre-tax profit as revenues nudged higher, although the group did caution that sales in the UK are likely to fall.
Manufacturing activity in US mid-Atlantic region picks up sharply in May
Factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region accelerated sharply in May as shipments picked-up, the results of one of the most widely-followed surveys for the sector revealed.
Goldman Sachs raises ABF target price
Analysts at Goldman Sachs raised their target price on shares of Associated British Foods, pointing to the company's differentiated positioning and potential upside from its Click & Collect model to back up their case.
Initial US weekly unemployment claims fall further
Two key indicators of the US labour market tightened further last week.
US pre-open: Stocks set for slightly lower start
Wall Street's main equity gauges are being called to start the session down by roughly a quarter of a percentage point on average amid continued heavy scrutiny of events on Capitol Hill by the media, although some traders cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
Facebook fined £95m by EU over Whatsapp merger
The EU's executive branch has continued its crackdown on US tech firms after fining Facebook €110m (£95m) for providing misleading information during its acquisition of popular messaging app Whatsapp in 2014.