Market Report
Week ahead: UK Withdrawal, China data in focus
All eyes will shift back towards Westminster this coming week, with the Prime Minister set to present her 'Plan B' for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union on Monday, even as she comes under pressure from many sides to cede on some of her 'red lines'.
Bonds: Gilts unwanted in 'risk-on' session
These were the movements in some of the most closely-followed 10-year sovereign bond yields:.
Europe close: Stocks reclaim December losses on trade hopes
Stocks on the Continent continued to reclaim their losses from last month on the back of a quick succession of more positive-sounding news on the global trade front.
Commodities: Brent gains on trade hopes, drop in US rig count
Energy and base metals moved higher at the end of the week on the back of positive-sounding news around the US-China trade talks and as more details emerged regarding the first round of talks between Beijing and Washington at the beginning of January.
China offers six-year plan to cut trade surplus with US to zero, Bloomberg reports
China has offered to embark on a six-year $1. 0trn buying spree of US goods in a bid to reconfigure the trade relationship between the two economic giants and reduce its trade surplus with America to zero by 2024, Bloomberg reported.
Tesla cuts staff by 7% as Musk sees hard times ahead
Tesla announced on Friday a 7% cut in staff numbers with Musk saying he sees a “very difficult road” ahead for the company.
London close: Stocks back at November levels on trade hopes
London stocks continued to push back towards their end of November levels as investors chose to focus on signs of possibly improving trade relations between the US and China, while brushing-off uninspiring retail sales figures referencing the previous month.
EU says UK will have to hold European elections if Brexit is delayed
The European Commission said on Friday that the UK would have to hold European elections in order to choose its representatives if Brexit is delayed beyond 2 July.
Broker tips: Antofagasta, Coats Group, RWS, Easyjet
Shares in Chilean copper miner Antofagasta were proving resilient on Friday in the face of a downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs, which slashed its price target to 700p from 850p as it argued that the stock's valuation is stretched following the recent rally.
FTSE 250 movers: Metro Bank steams upward while Sophos dives
London’s FTSE 250 was up 1. 01% at 18,725. 46 in afternoon trade on Friday, as Metro Bank finished off a strong week by leading the charge.
Sector movers: China chips in, life insurers continue rally
Positive reports about Sino-US trade talks gave extra impetus to the market mood on Friday.
Director dealings: Chemring director buys in near 52-week lows
Carl-Peter Forster, a non-executive director at Chemring, bought into the shares even as they hit a fresh 52-week low in the wake of the company's full-year figures.
RPC extends Apollo deadline again
Plastic packaging manufacturer RPC Group has for the fourth time pushed back the deadline for private equity firm Apollo Global Management to make a takeover offer.
Bupa buys Turkish health insurer Acibadem Sigorta
Healthcare company Bupa has completed the acquisition of Acıbadem Sigorta, Turkey's second-largest health insurer, it announced on Friday.
PipeHawk wins £2.6m contract with Penso UK
PipeHawk's subsidiary, QM Systems, has been awarded a partnership contract by Penso UK to provide a fully automated production facility for the manufacture of a new carbon fibre product to be installed at its Coventry facility.
Rio Tinto surprises with copper production numbers
Rio Tinto confirmed that iron ore shipments were at the upper end of its guidance and copper production was ahead, but production for the former will be flat in 2019, with the latter expected to fall.
FTSE 100 movers: Housebuilders head higher as EasyJet dives
London's FTSE 100 was up 1. 9% to 6,963. 20 in afternoon trade on Friday, underpinned by signs of improving relations between the US and China.
US consumer sentiment hits lowest level since Trump election
US consumer sentiment deteriorated a lot more than expected this month, dropping to its lowest level since Donald Trump was elected as worries about trade tariffs and the government shutdown took their toll, according to a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan.
Biohit upbeat on recent tests of ColonView product
Biohit updated the market on its ‘ColonView’ test on Friday, which it described as a new-generation fecal immunochemical test (FIT) designed for the detection of fecal occult blood (FOB) in subjects participating in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.
Young & Co's appoints Daniel Quint as interim CFO
Pub chain Young & Co's has appointed Daniel Quint as its interim chief financial officer.