Market Report
Thursday preview: US corporate results, Airtel Africa in the spotlight
The market spotlight on Thursday will be on a raft of quarterly updates from several of Wall Street's largest firms by market value, including Apple, Boeing and Tesla.
Europe close: Stocks walloped by lockdown blues
European shares were lower on Wednesday as investors held fire ahead of a US Federal Reserve decision on policy later in the day and a row between AstraZeneca and the EU over Covid-19 vaccine supply dampened sentiment.
GameStop's stonking run collapses retail trading platforms
GameStop shares continued their recent surge in the middle of the week catapulted higher by continued market speculation.
London close: Stocks finish weaker as investors look to Fed
London stocks finished in negative territory on Wednesday, amid ongoing worries about the pandemic, as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.
Director dealings: Hargreaves director ups stake
Hargreaves Services revealed on Wednesday that non-executive director Chris Jones had acquired 24,073 ordinary shares in the AIM-listed services group.
Altus Strategies upbeat on latest testwork at Tabakorole
Altus Strategies announced the results of preliminary metallurgical testwork on composite samples of fresh rock collected from core drilling at the FT Prospect of its Tabakorole gold project in southern Mali on Wednesday.
Broker tips: Griffin Mining, Babcock, Greencore
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Griffin Mining from 130. 0p to 170. 0p on Wednesday following a 107% increase in its Zone II resource at the group's Caijiaying mine in China.
Verditek sees slowdown at end of 2020
Solar panel technology company Verditek updated the market on its trading in 2020 on Wednesday, reporting that production was ramped up at its manufacturing plant near Milan in the fourth quarter, to fulfil existing and anticipated orders.
88 Energy reports positive moves on Merlin-1 well approval
88 Energy updated the market on its operations in the NPR-A region of the North Slope of Alaska on Wednesday, confirming that the Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska branch was reviewing its permit to drill for the upcoming Merlin-1 well.
Mineral & Financial to begin second phase of drilling at Lagoa Salgada
Mineral and Financial Investments announced the start of the second phase drilling programme in the South Zone at the Lagoa Salgada project on Wednesday, on the Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal.
IMF warns of heightened risks from slow rollout of vaccines in developing countries
The world's financial stability watchdog warned governments that emergency economic measures needed to be retained in order to stave off the risk of a "correction" in stock markets.
FTSE 250 movers: Greencore boosted by upgrade; AO World retreats
London’s FTSE 250 was down 0. 8% at 20,288. 50 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
US durable goods orders for December fall short of forecasts
Durable goods orders grew at a slower than expected pace last month, albeit only on account of the drag from the oft-volatile civilian aerospace sector.
US open: Stocks sharply lower as earnings continue to stream in
Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday as market participants awaited a rate decision from the Federal Reserve and updates from Apple, Facebook and Tesla later in the day.
Melvin Capital said to have closed out short position in GameStop
US investment manager Melvin Capital reportedly closed out its short position in video game retailer GameStop on Tuesday afternoon.
FTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo loses its shine; Pearson surges
London’s FTSE 100 was down 1. 8% at 6,533. 08 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Heavily-shorted Pearson, Cineworld surge
Shares of education publisher Pearson surged on Wednesday, with traders pointing to a short squeeze.
Berenberg raises target price on Griffin Mining
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on Griffin Mining from 130. 0p to 170. 0p on Wednesday following a 107% increase in its Zone II resource at the group's Caijiaying mine in China.
Petroneft production performance improves in January
Oil and gas exploration and production company Petroneft updated the market on its operations on Wednesday, reporting an increase in production performance at licence 61, with 1,847 barrels of oil per day during January, up 6. 95% year-on-year.
Jefferies upgrades Greencore after 'reassuring' update
Convenience food maker Greencore got a boost on Wednesday as Jefferies lifted its stance on the shares to ‘buy’ from hold’ and upped the price target to 150p from 106p, a day after a muted reaction to a "reassuring" first-quarter update.