Market Report
London midday: Stocks maintain gains as pound slides on inflation data
London stocks were maintaining gains by midday on Wednesday as stalling inflation piled more pressure on the pound, while updates from airline EasyJet and miner BHP Billiton lent a hand.
Supply chain trouble leaves Airbus struggling to deliver
Delays and shortfalls are causing Airbus to struggle with delivery deadlines in the first six months of 2018.
Director dealings: Workspace quartet sell £1.6m of shares
Four Workspace directors and their spouses sold £1. 57m worth of the served office group's stock, which is just off its highest level in nine and half years.
Europe close: Stocks end up as euro weakens; Ericsson rallies on Q2 results
European stocks ended higher on Wednesday amid some well-received earnings and as the dollar continued to dominate the single currency, with tech shares leading the gains.
London close: Stocks gain as pound hit by stalling inflation, politics
London stocks rose on Wednesday as the pound was knocked lower by stalling inflation and politics, while updates from airline EasyJet and miner BHP Billiton lent a hand.
Capita CFO packs his bags
Capita chief financial officer Nick Greatorex has given notice that he intends to leave the outsourcer, seven months after a new chief executive was appointed.
Broker tips: Boohoo, Ascential, Royal Mail
Online fashion retailer Boohoo got a boost on Wednesday as Liberum bumped the stock up to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 240p from 220p on the back of an improvement in its key metrics.
JPMorgan cuts Royal Mail target price after Q1 results
JPMorgan Cazenove cut its price target on neutral-rated Royal Mail to 537p from 561p on Wednesday following the company's first-quarter results a day earlier.
Premier Foods CEO survives re-election vote; Q1 sales up 1.7%
The chief executive officer of Mr Kipling and Bisto owner Premier Foods survived an attempt to oust him on Wednesday, as the company posted a rise in first-quarter total group sales and said expectations for the year remain unchanged.
Goldman reinstates Ascential at 'buy' after exhibitions sale
Goldman Sachs reinstated coverage of Ascential, formerly EMAP, with a 'buy' rating and 560p price target, saying the new business mix will support double-digit organic growth to 2020.
Thursday preview: Unilever and Sports Direct results in focus
Half year results are due from Unilever and full year numbers from Sports Direct, while the Office for National Statistics will confirm official retail growth for last month.
US open: Stocks mostly higher as Morgan Stanley rallies on earnings
US stocks were mostly a little higher in early trade on Wednesday, with Morgan Stanley boosted by solid second-quarter earnings, as investors digested the latest testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and some disappointing data on housing starts.
FTSE 250 movers: RPC buckles in the heat; Transport stocks on the move
Shares in plastics manufacturer RPC fell as the company saw revenue growth slow in the first quarter and warned that its acquisitive growth plans were being constrained.
Quadrise Fuels signs MoU with fuel merchant Freepoint
Quadrise Fuels International has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Freepoint Commodities, it announced on Wednesday.
Scancell exercises option for Ichor's TriGrid 2.0
Novel immunotherapies developer Scancell Holdings has exercised its option to a worldwide commercial licence for the use of Ichor Medical Systems' proprietary ‘TriGrid 2. 0’ electroporation delivery system with SCIB1 - Scancell's ‘ImmunoBody’ vaccine for the treatment of melanoma - it announced on Wednesday.
Biffa trading in line, investors told
Waste management company Biffa updated the market on its trading on Wednesday, for the period from 31 March to date.
Sky gets pat on the back in latest Ofcom complaints stats
As children's entertainment behemoth Disney and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox tussle for control of Sky, Ofcom has revealed the broadcaster and telecoms utility was the least complained about provider in the latest complaints league table.
FTSE 100 movers: BHP shines, Smiths looks ill
Miner BHP Billiton helped the FTSE risers in a narrow market after revealing fourth-quarter iron ore production rose 3% and raising 2019 guidance to +3%.
Asia report: Markets finish mixed after encouraging words from Powell
Markets in Asia started their sessions slightly firmer on Wednesday, but finished up a mixed bag as investors digested reassuring words from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell at his Congressional testimony.
US housing starts drop to nine-month low in June
US housing starts dropped to a nine-month low in June, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.