Sterling hit by fresh UK lockdown fears January 4, 2021 Sterling weakened against the dollar this afternoon as fears of even tighter lockdown restrictions outweighed optimism surrounding a Brexit deal. Sterling had rallied after the last minute Brexit deal brought an end to the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s exit from the EU. But with Brexit finally over traders have turned their attention to the coronavirus pandemic [...]
UK fundraising hits ten-year high as listed companies scramble for cash January 4, 2021 Fundraising by London-listed businesses reached its highest level in a decade last year as the pandemic drove companies to raise money on public markets. 2020 saw the value of secondary equity raisings on the London Stock Exchange nearly double from £14.5bn in 2019 to £8.8bn in 2020, according to new research by Pinsent Masons. In [...]
Oil prices hover at 10 month highs as Opec mulls production curbs January 4, 2021 Oil prices are hovering around 10 month highs this morning as producer cartel Opec and other oil rich nations meet to discuss output curbs. Worldwide standard Brent crude was up 1.4 per cent this morning at $52.50, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.8 per cent to stand at $48.90. Today’s meeting is the first of [...]
Euro share trading exits London to new EU hubs January 4, 2021 In the first day of trading since Britain left the EU, trading in euro-denominated shares has shifted away from the City to new platforms. The City’s unfettered access to the bloc ended on New Year’s Eve, meaning EU banks and asset managers must use a platform inside the bloc for euro share trading. The Brexit [...]
It’s over: FTSE 100 finishes down 15 per cent on start of the year December 31, 2020 The FTSE 100 ended 2020 appropriately, sliding on the last day of trading and finishing 15 per cent down on the year. The market was on half-day duty today with traders able to celebrate New Year a little earlier. Optimism which powered gains earlier this week has dissipated, with dispiriting news on vaccines rollout in [...]
The year in charts: From the FTSE to Zoom’s share price December 31, 2020 2020 has been quite the ride. So, to cap it off, we worked with our friends at Flourish to look at *quite* how wild it was… Global stock markets have had an odd year – from optimism to collapse to guarded positivity for the future. Here’s how the FTSE 100 fared. Currency markets were all [...]
Three quarters of small businesses set to hire next year as vaccine boosts confidence December 31, 2020 Small businesses are looking forward to hiring further staff in 2021 as the vaccine rollout boosts confidence for the year ahead. Some 77 per cent of businesses plan to increase their workforce, with four in ten aiming to do so as early as Q1. The research, conducted by Starling Bank and the Great British Entrepreneur [...]
Wall St closes higher, dollar drops as remarkable year winds down December 30, 2020 By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street ended the session in positive territory and the dollar dipped to its lowest in more than two years on Wednesday, the penultimate trading day in a remarkable year of pandemic, recession and recovery. All three major U.S. stock indexes gained modestly, but short of all-time closing highs [...]
FTSE flat despite Oxford jab approval giving cause for 2021 optimism December 30, 2020 The FTSE 100 nibbled upward in early trading but fell to flat by lunchtime, as traders looked forward with some optimism to 2021. The index gained Tuesday, with many stocks hitting pre-pandemic highs. Traders were less bullish today, and after reaching gains of 0.3 per cent this morning the index has settled flat. Read more: [...]
Wall Street and FTSE surge as US stimulus and Brexit deal lift sentiment December 29, 2020 Wall Street hit fresh highs and the FTSE 100 posted strong gains today as investor confidence mounts in the final days of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were up 0.49 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively as markets opened this afternoon. The Nasdaq also gained 0.42 per cent. Read more: Wall [...]