Markets

London - UK stocks rose for a ninth straight day as investors cheered positive economic data from both the UK and the US, with miners and banks enjoying an afternoon rally after falls the previous session. The FTSE100 closed 66.07 points higher at 4559.80, the highest closing level since early January, making its longest winning streak since late 2003.

Posted: July 24th, 2009 under Asset Management.
Comments: none

Markets

London - UK stocks closed higher on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second quarter results from GlaxoSmithkline. The FTSE100 closed 12.56 points higher at 4493.73. Shire was the best performer, up 4 percent, with its second quarter results due in a few weeks, while AstraZeneca gained 1.2 percent. GlaxoSmthkline gave up earlier gains, falling 0.6 percent on profit taking after its second quarter earnings beat expectations and the firm said momentum in the second half would pick up on the back of flu vaccine sales.

Posted: July 23rd, 2009 under Asset Management.
Comments: none

Markets

London - UK stocks closed higher on Monday, with banks leading the surge and commodity stocks jumping on stronger crude oil and metal prices. The FTSE100 closed 54.87 points higher at 4443.62, the highest close since June 11. Banks rose after US lender CIT Group’s tentative deal with bondholders improving sentiment. HSBC, Standard Chartered and RBS rose 1.6 to 3.6 percent. Lloyds Banking Group rose 6.7 percent, support by a Sunday Telegraph report saying it would post a first half profit.

Posted: July 21st, 2009 under Asset Management.
Comments: none

Markets

London - UK stocks closed higher on Friday, as oils, miners and banks all rallied, with traders cheering better than expected corporate results from the US. The FTSE100 closed 26.91 points higher at 4388.75, its biggest weekly rise since early January. Citigroup and Bank of America posted consensus beating second quarter earnings, following results from IBM, Intel, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

Posted: July 20th, 2009 under Asset Management.
Comments: none

Markets

London - The FTSE 100 is currently 24.51 points higher at 4,386.35. British Airways is in focus after announcing a plan to raise £600 million through a bond issue. The airline is currently 2.6% higher. Bunzl top the fallers after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the stock to Neutral. In contrast BG Group adds 2.1% after being upgraded to Buy from Neutral, by Goldman Sachs. Old Mutual rises 2.1% after appointing Kuseni Dlamini as CEO for South Africa to succeed Paul Hanratty.

Posted: July 17th, 2009 under Asset Management.
Comments: none