Market Pulse
Europe close: Stocks move higher on US data.
Equities on the Continent benefited from better than expected US retail sales data for the month of January, albeit alongside firmer price pressures.
Sector movers: Lenders' shares pace gains amid Fed chatter
Banks paced gains in the market on Wednesday amid a bevy of relatively confident Fed speak.
Directors dealings: Rio non-exec digs into miner's shares
Robert Brown, a non-executive director at Rio Tinto, picked up 4,500 American Depositary Receipts in the miner at an individual price of US$46. 27, pocketing out a total of US$208,215 in the process.
FX round-up: Sterling flops as traders react to UK employment data
Sterling flopped against most key crosses on Wednesday evening, with the already Brexit-devalued currency taking a welter of blows as traders adjusted their positions on the back of UK employment data out earlier.
Kibo Mining completes work for impact assessment
Tanzania-focussed mineral exploration and development company Kibo Mining announced on Wednesday that all work for the environmental and social impact assessment had been completed, and that the company was now awaiting certification.
Commodities: Crude rises despite higher inventories as US inflation beats forecasts
Crude futures reversed earlier softness to up up late on Wednesday afternoon as the markets welcome a string of US economic news, shrugging off confirmation of higher-than-expected oil stores.
Broker tips: Acacia Mining, Hunting, Ashtead
Gold miner Acacia Mining had its share price target lifted in a bullish note from Jefferies on Wednesday morning.
RM2 playing testing role in AT&T LTE-M development
US telecoms giant AT&T announced plans for a nationwide deployment of its LTE-M network for Internet of Things uses ahead of schedule in second quarter of 2017 on Wednesday, with AIM-traded technology firm RM2 playing a significant testing role.
Tlou Energy reports significant upgrade to gas reserves
Botswana-focussed coalbed methane developer Tlou Energy announced a significant upgrade of reserves for the Lesedi CBM Project, and initial reserves for the Mamba Project in Botswana on Wednesday.
NAHB housing market index unexpectedly drops in February
Sentiment among US housebuilders unexpectedly deteriorated in February, according to data released on Wednesday.
Thursday preview: Shire to allay concerns, Drax has potential for beat
Thursday will see various second-tier data keeping some background noise humming while a small number of blue chips report results.
Koovs win major Indian website award
India-focussed online fashion business Koovs announced on Wednesday that it was named ‘Most Popular Fashion Portal Preferred by Youth’ at the annual Global Youth Marketing Forum in Mumbai.
US CPI jumps in January, core prices also higher
US consumer prices sped past forecasts in January, with a key measure of 'core' inflation coming in significantly ahead of market forecasts.
Emmerson joins main market as it hunts for an acquisition
Emmerson announced the successful placing of 30,433,242 new ordinary shares of no par value in the company on Wednesday, at a placing price of 3p per new ordinary share, and admission of its entire share capital of 48,183,344 ordinary shares to the Official List, and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities.
Galileo begins drilling programme at Concordia.
Galileo Resources announced the commencement of a drilling programme for its Concordia Copper project in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa on Wednesday.
Gulfsands secures extension to Moulay Bouchta agreement
Syria, Tunisia, Colombia and Morocco-focussed oil and gas company Gulfsands Petroleum announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary, Gulfsands Petroleum Morocco, had been awarded an extension to its Moulay Bouchta Petroleum Agreement, together with a revised work programme.
ASDA Mobile goes 4G under renewed BT deal
Telecommunications provider BT announced an extension to its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement, using its EE network, with Walmart-owned supermarket chain ASDA on Wednesday.
US open: Shares boosted by economic data
The main US stockmarket benchmarks edged higher at the start of trading on the back of generally better than expected economic data.
FTSE 250 movers: Acacia shines bright but bookies bomb on HSBC note
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0. 2% to 18,833. 45 in afternoon trade.
FTSE 100 movers: Ashtead boosted by Merrill note; TUI slumps.
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 4% to 7,296. 80 in afternoon trade, as investors digested news that UK wage growth has slowed but unemployment has picked up.