12 June 2017
Stanley Gibbons, Great Western Mining and Greatland Gold“The FTSE100 opened on the back foot with investors still cautious as Prime Minister Theresa May attempts to hold on to power after losing her majority in last week’s snap election,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Stamp and collectibles group Stanley Gibbons was down in early trading after confirming it was considering the sale of...
9 June 2017
HaloSource, Centrica and Windar Photonics“The FTSE100 was up in early trading as sterling fell after the Conservatives lost their majority in the Commons. Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble on a snap election to give her a strong mandate for Brexit talks failed, casting a pall of uncertainty over the forthcoming negotiations,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Clean water...
9 June 2017
Hung Parliament may not hamstring FTSE 100(although oil, the dollar, metals prices and interest rates still could)
A dreadfully poor campaign, where the slogan “Strong and Stable Government” smacked far too much of Tory Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin’s uninspiring and unsuccessful “Safety First” campaign of 1929, has caught up with Theresa May and the Conservative Party and eroded its...
9 June 2017
Hung Parliament – lessons from 2010“A dreadfully poor campaign has caught up with Theresa May and the Conservative Party, leaving the UK facing the prospect of a coalition Government for the second time in three General Elections," says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Going into the poll markets had rather lazily been relying upon the opinion polls which continued to point...
8 June 2017
Smiles all round at Boohoo.com after strong update“A better-than-expected 78% jump in first-quarter sales on a like-for-like basis is putting a smile on the face of investors in Boohoo.com today, as they gladly buy £50 million of new shares in the firm (and an additional 3% stake off management) to help fund future growth," says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The headline sales growth...
8 June 2017
boohoo.com, Flybe and Bellzone Mining“Blue-chips edged very tentatively higher in a cautious start to election-day trade,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Online fashion group boohoo.com led the AIM board in early trading after it raised full-year forecasts following a strong first quarter. Revenues more than doubled to £120m in the three months to the end of May. The...
7 June 2017
RPC, AudioBoom and LiDCO“Blue-chips edged lower in early trading with investors continuing their cautious, potentially risk-averse stance ahead of tomorrow’s General Election,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Plastic products design and engineering group RPC was the biggest FTSE250 riser after pre-tax profits more than doubled. Acquisitions made since it...
6 June 2017
AO World, easyJet and Joules“The FTSE100 edged lower in early deals as sterling made minor gains on the dollar and euro ahead of Thursday’s General Election. Gold and silver prices edging up but copper and three-month industrial metals were markedly lower,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Online electrical retailer AO World was the biggest FTSE250 faller after...
5 June 2017
Ocado, Dillistone and Highland Gold“The FTSE100 made small gains although early trading was once again overshadowed by terrorism following the weekend attack at London Bridge in which seven people were killed and around 50 injured. Sterling was mildly on the back foot against the dollar and euro, as the market counts down to Thursday’s General Election,” says AJ Bell Investment...
2 June 2017
Inmarsat, Metro Bank and Cohort“The FTSE100 opened on the front foot with sterling mildly lower against the dollar and euro, as markets assessed US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a move which has dismayed many US companies. On the economic front, the UK's construction PMI will be under scrutiny this morning while this...
1 June 2017
FirstGroup, Johnson Matthey and Haynes Publishing“The FTSE opened on a positive note, helped by sterling weakness against the dollar and euro. Investors are looking to a raft of data out mid-morning, centred on purchasing-managers' indices in the UK and Europe,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ FirstGroup was the FTSE250’s biggest faller in early trading despite a 23% rise in...
31 May 2017
Five ways to value a stockOne of the most important lessons of investing is to buy as cheaply as you can (with the ultimate aim of selling as expensively as you can, or even not selling at all, if you really pick a winner).
While they may sound like the blindingly obvious, investors can occasionally be seduced, especially when markets are rising, to forget this discipline....
31 May 2017
Latest FTSE 100 reshuffle shows e-commerce is a key theme as investors continue to seek growth"The latest reshuffle of the FTSE 100 is due to be confirmed this evening and based on current market capitalisations Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Intu Properties are due to be relegated to the FTSE 250. Royal Mail is hovering on the fringes of relegation, although it looks safe this time around," says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
The...
31 May 2017
Lamprell, IG Group and Telford Homes“The FTSE100 opened on the front foot as sterling dipped against the US dollar and the euro after a new opinion poll forecast that the Conservatives could fall short of an overall majority in next week’s General Election. In the UK, traders will be looking at mortgage approvals, net lending to individuals and M4 Money Supply while Europe's consumer...
30 May 2017
IAG, Ryanair and GAN“The FTSE100 opened in negative territory following the pattern seen in early trade across Europe. Traders are increasingly focused on the forthcoming General Election and mulled last night’s televised interviews with the Conservatives' Theresa May and Labour's Jeremy Corbyn,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“British Airways parent...
26 May 2017
Informa, The Restaurant Group and Caffyns“The FTSE100 edged into positive territory in early trading with sterling lower on the dollar and crude oil prices softer after OPEC yesterday extended its output pledge by a further nine months leading into 2018. Traders are continuing to assess yesterday's news of slower-than-expected UK gross domestic product growth in Q1 while this afternoon...
25 May 2017
Five things to like about M&S’ full-year figures and five things to worry about"Early gains in Marks & Spencer shares are taking the stock to fresh 12-month highs as chief executive Steve Rowe targets further strategic and operational changes designed to improve financial performance - even if yesterday's 2016-17 figures are messy and still raise as many questions as they give answers," says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ...
25 May 2017
Halfords, Daily Mail and General Trust and Headlam“The blue-chip index was close to a record high in early trading with easyJet and British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group among the top risers following strong results by budget carrier Wizz Air. Investors will be looking to the UK's Q1 second-estimate GDP growth figure out mid-morning, along with the index of services and...
24 May 2017
Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer and Britvic“The FTSE100 opened in negative territory following gains in Wall Street last night and a mixed session in Asia this morning with sterling mildly ahead on both the dollar and euro. Gold, silver and copper prices were all lower and rating agency Moody's has downgraded China's credit score on worries about the future state of the economy,” says AJ...
24 May 2017
How to check whether ETFs are right for your portfolioLast week’s column noted the phenomenal rise of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the concept of passive investment. This is best exemplified by data from independent consultant ETFGI which shows that $197 billion flowed into ETFs worldwide in the first quarter of 2017. That compared to inflows of $70 billion in the same period in 2016 and was...
23 May 2017
HomeServe, Greencore and Severn Trent“The FTSE100 opened in positive territory although trading was inevitably overshadowed by last night’s terror attack in Manchester in which 22 people died and at least 59 people were injured. Traders will be scrutinising UK public sector net borrowing and inflation report data, while in the euro zone and later the US a platter of PMI data will be...
22 May 2017
Active Energy, Thor Mining and Highland Gold Mining“The FTSE got away to a positive start with rising miners, commercial property and utilities all helping the blue-chip index higher, as did softer sterling,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ Active Energy’s shares soared after it inked an in-principle agreement for a Crown timber licence and forestry management deal covering 1...
19 May 2017
Hikma, Future and Grainger“The FTSE100 opened on the front foot following gains in the US and Asia overnight as markets recovered some ground after the sell-off prompted by calls for the possible impeachment of US President Donald Trump,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ Hikma Pharmaceuticals was the biggest blue-chip faller in early trading after it lowered...
18 May 2017
4 reasons to include ETFs in your portfolioAccording to data from independent consultant ETFGI, global fund flows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) came to $197 billion in the first quarter of 2017. That compares to inflows of $70 billion in the same period in 2016 and is enough to take total assets under management to $3.9 trillion.
It is easy to see why this trend is developing so...
18 May 2017
Royal Mail, Greggs and Burberry“The FTSE100 opened in negative territory following heavy falls on Wall Street and in Asia overnight on concerns surrounding calls for the possible impeachment of US President Donald Trump,” says AJ Bell Director Russ Mould.
“Investors gave Royal Mail’s full-year figures the stamp of approval with the group’s shares topping the blue-chip board in...