Market Report
Commodities: Metals and energy eke out small gains as US dollar dips
Commodity prices edged higher on Tuesday, with base metals pacing gains as the Greenback drifted lower ahead of the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting.
Europe close: Stocks jump amid mixed readings on investor sentiment
Stocks on the Continent finished higher on the back of an unexpectedly strong reading on analyst sentiment towards Germany, helped by some positive headlines around Brexit and US-China trade talks.
London close: FTSE 100 hits highest close since early October
London stocks continuing to push higher on Tuesday as investors remained sanguine about Brexit uncertainty and mulled figures showing a drop in the rate of unemployment to its lowest level since 1975.
FTSE 250 movers: TP ICAP climbs, Wood Group chopped down
London's FTSE 250 was 0. 32% higher at 19,549. 12 in afternoon trading, as TP ICAP pushed the index higher.
Sector movers: Supermarket sector in demand
Paper and packaging companies, industrials and the supermarket sector were on the front foot on Tuesday.
Wood Group returns to growth but debt cutting disappoints
Wood Group returned to growth in 2018 but said its growth cutting efforts would be slower than it planned after the merger with Amec Foster Wheeler.
Director dealings: Evraz execs lower stakes
Evraz chairman Alexander Abramov disposed of 8. 47m ordinary shares in the FTSE 100-listed steelmaker on Tuesday.
Wednesday preview: US Federal Reserve, Kingfisher and Genel in focus
Barring surprise developments on the Brexit front - or elsewhere - the market spotlight will shift towards the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Broker tips: Polypipe, Informa
Analysts at Peel Hunt downgraded their recommendation on stock in Polypipe following the recent sharp run-up in the share price.
FTSE 100 movers: Ocado on the rise but Evraz drops on share sale
London's FTSE 100 was up 0. 4% to 7,327. 05 in afternoon trade on Tuesday as investors mulled over the latest UK jobs data.
Peel Hunt downgrades Polypipe after full-year results
Analyst at Peel Hunt downgraded their recommendation on stock in Polypipe following the recent sharp run-up in the share price.
Polypipe falls short of lofty expectations for 2018
Shares of Polypipe were knocked-off their perch after the company posted lower than expected full-year operating profits, but sounded a confident note on the outlook and bumped up its dividend.
US open: Dow on track for fifth straight day of gains
US stocks opened higher on Tuesday as investors eyed the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
Volvere swings to a profit on gains from discontinued operations
Investment outfit Volvere expects to swing to a profit in 2018, driven by gains from discontinued operations.
Informa boosted by Morgan Stanley upgrade to 'overweight'
Morgan Stanley upped its stance on shares of events company Informa to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' on Tuesday as it highlighted decent trading and a lowly rating versus peers.
Oxford BioDynamics biomarker to be used in prostate cancer test trial
Oxford BioDynamics announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Imperial College London, to utilise its latest ‘EpiSwitch’ biomarker signature for the blood-based diagnosis of prostate cancer in the ‘PROSTAGRAM’ trial.
ITM Power sells electrolyser to Toyota Australia
Energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power announced on Tuesday that Toyota Australia has purchased a 0. 25MW rapid-response PEM electrolyser from it.
InstraStrata awards engineering design contract to Costain
Natural gas storage company InfraStrata has awarded an engineering design works contract to Costain, it announced on Tuesday, to enable the £65m cost savings it identified during the front-end engineering and design (FEED) process to be realised on its Islandmagee gas storage project.
Kazera upbeat on progress in Namibia
Investment company Kazera Global announced on Tuesday that the borehole drilling campaign at both the Homestead and Purple Haze deposits had been completed.
Learning Technologies hikes dividend as profits surge
Learning Technologies reported a surge in full-year earnings on Tuesday as it hiked its dividend.