Market Pulse
US close: Stocks hit record highs on strong data; Fed divided over rate hikes
US stocks hit records highs on Wednesday following solid data on manufacturing and construction spending, as the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed officials were divided over the prospect of three rate hikes this year.
Asia close: Regional stocks continue upwards push, PBoC sets stronger fix
Asian stocks continued to push higher, tracking record closes on Wall Street overnight and amid a small bounce in the US dollar.
US carmakers post mixed December sales figures
Ford saw sales rise 0. 9% across the US in December in comparison to a year ago, a figure principally driven by the 89,385 F-Series pickup trucks sold throughout the month, which was more than twice as the 44,871 total of all other Ford passenger cars sold throughout the month.
Commodities: Energy futures jump on US inventory data, winter freeze
Bullish US weekly oil inventory data amid record-low temperatures across the eastern half of the States boosted energy prices almost across the board, helping to buoy the entire commodities complex.
Blenheim Natural Resources secures permits from government of Mali
Investment group Blenheim Natural Resources confirmed on Wednesday that Mali's ministry of mines had granted Nashwan Lithium, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nashwan Holdings in which it held a 30% interest, the Manianbala and Djidje exploration permits in the Bougouni region.
Director dealings: Paragon Entertainment chief executive picks up nearly 1.5m shares in company
John Dobson, chief executive officer of pre-packaged leisure and attraction products firm Paragon Entertainment, picked up 1,431,490 new ordinary shares in the company on Wednesday.
Intel shares dip after report of design flaw
A design flaw in Intel's processor chips could allow malware and hackers to more easily exploit other security bugs, according to a report overnight.
Ant Financial's acquisition of Moneygram blocked by White House
Donald Trump has rejected the $1. 2bn acquisition of Texan money transfer company Moneygram by China's Ant Financial citing national security concerns.
Thursday preview: Focus on UK services and housing, US ADP jobs report
Thursday is not expected to be very busy on the UK or European company news front, but it's set up to be a fairly busy day of macroeconomic news, including UK reports on the services sector and housing market, plus the ADP jobs report in the US will offer a preview of the following day's official non-farm payrolls.
US open: Stocks in the black after strong data; Fed minutes eyed
US stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, underpinned by solid data on manufacturing and construction spending, as investors eyed the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve.
FTSE 250 movers: Retailers boosted by Next update; recruiters hit by downgrade
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0. 4% to 20,768. 19 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with retailers leading the charge after Next upped its guidance.
Spotify files for IPO amid fresh songwriting lawsuit
Spotify has filed documents with the US financial regulator to begin the process of its initial public offer in New York, while management are still battling a lawsuit accusing the music streaming service of infringing upon the rights of songwriters and publishers.
MySQUAR receives approach that 'may or may not' lead to takeover
Myanmar-language social media, entertainment and payments platform MySQUAR noted press speculation on Wednesday and confirmed that it has received an approach from another organisation which may or may not lead to a takeover offer.
ISM manufacturing PMI rises to 59.7 in December from 58.2
Growth in the US economy’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly improved in December, according to data from the US Institute for Supply Management.
FTSE 100 movers: Next rallies as it lifts guidance; Ashtead boosted by upgrade
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 3% to 7,668. 66 in afternoon trade on Wednesday thanks to a solid performance from retailers.
Barclays ups target price for Whitbread on potential for Costa sale
Following the arrival of an activist investors on Whitbread's share register, analysts at Barclays has estimated that a potential break-up of the Costa and Premier Inns group could deliver a sum-of-the-parts valuation of 18-40% above the current share price.
Shire dry eye treatment gets Canadian approval
Shire’s Xiidra, a twice-daily eye drop solution for the treatment of dry eye disease in adults, has been approved in Canada.
Mifid II starts smoothly after late exemptions for futures exchanges
Implementation of new rules governing European financial markets went smoothly after the UK and Germany gave the continent's biggest futures exchanges last-minute leeway.
Credit Suisse upgrades five, downgrades seven in business services review
Improving economic conditions in Europe and a tougher backdrop in the UK was a large part of why Credit Suisse upgraded five outward focused stocks and downgraded seven others as it reviewed prospects for the business services sector.
Europe midday: Stocks maintain gains as retailers rally; German data a bright spot
European stocks were holding on to gains by midday on Wednesday, boosted by strength in the retail sector and good news regarding German unemployment, as investors looked to the latest Federal Reserve minutes for further insight into the US central bank's thinking.