Market Pulse
Week ahead: A blizzard of results and macro news
A deep freeze is forecast in the UK next week and as February segues into March there will be a blizzard of company results, a flurry of key macro data for China, Europe and the US, and hope that frosty relations can thaw in a new round of Brexit talks.
Market buzz: Stocks jump off lows ... led by defensives
1731: Interest rate sensitive stocks paced gains on the top flight index on Friday, with BT Group, United Utilities, Severn Trent, British America Tobacco and British Land at the top of the leaderboard. In the background, yields on longer-term Gilts were lower, tracking a fall in those for similarly-dated Treasuries on other side of the Atlantic. Triggering those moves was what some observers described as a less hawkish than expected monetary policy report to Congress from the Federal Reserve.
London close: Stocks gain, all eyes on US Federal Reserve
Stocks recovered from early selling during the final hour of the session as traders reacted to the release of the text of the US central bank chief's semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, which according to market observers at first glance did not appear to point to an overly hawkish Federal Reserve.
Director dealings: BGEO's chief financial officer sells shares for £280,000
David Tsiklauri, chief financial officer of investment bank BGEO, disposed of 8,320 ordinary shares in the firm on Tuesday at a price of 3,384. 00p per share, pocketing £281,548. 80 in the process.
SeaBird shares soar after doubling quarterly revenues
Shares in seismic data provider SeaBird skyrocketed on Friday after the firm announced that revenues in the three months leading to 31 December had come in at more than twice those recorded during the previous quarter.
Trump announces 'largest-ever' set of sanctions on North Korea
The White House announced a brand new set of sanctions in its efforts to strip North Korea of its access to smuggling routes used by the regime to evade a United Nations embargo and fund its nuclear weapons programme.
Europe midday: Stocks edge higher in cautious trading
Stocks are moving higher at the end of the week, albeit amid palpably cautious trading.
Astra and MSD get positive cancer news from EU agency
AstraZeneca and US partner Merck & Co (MSD) have received a positive opinion from European drug regulators over their ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer therapy.
Summit Therapeutics to participate in BTIG Healthcare Conference
Drug discovery and development company Summit Therapeutics announced on Friday that its management would participate in one-on-one meetings at the 2018 BTIG Healthcare Conference.
Indus Gas offers to buy notes back from noteholders
Indus Gas announced on Friday that, as part of the company's continuing capital and liability management initiatives to optimise its debt capital structure, it was inviting the note holders to offer to sell for cash any and all of the outstanding notes held by them.
FTSE 250 movers: Phoenix rallies on Standard Life deal; SIG slides on Kingspan news
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0. 1% to 19,752. 89 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Bill Colvin resigns as Baron Oil chairman
Baron Oil announced the resignation of William ‘Bill’ Colvin as its chairman and a director of the company on Friday, with effect from 28 February.
US open: Wall Street opens firmer as tech stocks pull indices higher
Wall Street trading kicked off with all major indices opening firmer on Friday following on from highs seen at the end of the previous session, with another round of Fedspeak very much in focus.
FTSE 100 movers: RBS and IAG fall on results; BT bucks trend
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0. 4% to 7,222. 59 in afternoon trade on Friday, with RBS and IAG in the red after results.
Netflix gains improved rating form S&P on strong outlook
Netflix's high-yield bonds moved ahead on Thursday evening, after S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on the Californian firm's credit, saying that a stronger-than-expected operating performance in 2017 had forced it to take another look.
Credit Suisse upgrades Lancashire to 'buy' but drops target price
Credit Suisse upgraded non-life insurer Lancashire Holdings to 'buy' from 'underperform', saying that despite its fourth-quarter pre-tax losses missing consensus expectations, the share price offered a better level of risk/return.
Chancellors Estates lists with OnTheMarket
Online property marketing platform operator OnTheMarket announced on Friday that, in line with the five-year agreement announced in November, the estate agency firm Chancellors Estates is now advertising its UK residential sales and lettings properties at OnTheMarket. com.
Ultimate Sports Group to make provision for struggling digital platform
Investment company Ultimate Sports Group updated the market on recent developments on Friday, following its announcement last June that the development of the UltimatePlayer. me digital platform - designed to increase the participation of children in school sports -had seen a number of challenges.
Crest Nicholson says Farnham regeneration agreement now unconditional
FTSE 250 residential developer Crest Nicholson said on Friday that its development agreement with Waverley Borough Council to deliver the £115m Brightwells regeneration of Farnham Town Centre is now unconditional.
Chancellor likely to confirm new taxes for digital giants
HM Treasury is considering imposing an extra tax on tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google's Alphabet and Apple on their revenues rather than their profits because they are not so easy to shift from one jurisdiction to another.