25 June 2018
Quilter/Old Mutual & Countrywide“It’s a bad start to the week for the FTSE 100, slipping 0.6% on Monday morning to 7,633. Share price weakness in banks, drug companies and natural resources producers act as the biggest drags on the market,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Quilter / Old Mutual“FTSE 100 life insurer Old Mutual has finally spun out its UK wealth...
22 June 2018
Markets and Woodford Patient Capital Trust“The FTSE 100 only manages to nudge up 0.2% on Friday to 7,572 with no major corporate news to drive trading volumes. Next week sees FTSE 100 companies Bunzl and Whitbread update on their trading and on the economic front there is data on UK GDP and mortgage approvals,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Markets“Investors in tracker...
22 June 2018
Financial markets side with Project Fear, two years after the EU referendumIt is two years since the British public voted in favour of Brexit and financial markets continue to approach March 2019 with a degree of trepidation.
This is not to say the markets are right to be cautious about what Brexit may bring but three clear trends suggest that investors would at the very least like greater clarity on what sort of deal the...
21 June 2018
Dixons Carphone and Saga“The FTSE 100 is regaining strength after a very patchy start to June. It nudged up 0.3% in early trading on Thursday to 7,651,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.
Dixons Carphone“There are no surprises in full year results from Dixons Carphone, much to the relief of its shareholders whose patience has been tested on several...
20 June 2018
Repeat of peak profits forecast shakes shares in Berkeley“Second-guessing Tony Pidgley, chairman of Berkeley Homes, is usually unwise and investors appear to be taking his forecast that profits have peaked at the house builder more seriously today than when he first made it back in December,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“Berkeley’s focus on high-end properties in the South East means...
20 June 2018
Berkeley Group and Sirius Minerals“Investors are regaining confidence as evident by a 0.9% rise in the FTSE 100 to 7,669 on Wednesday. Miners, tobacco sellers and drug companies help top the leaderboard,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Berkeley Group“ Berkeley becomes the latest housebuilder to sound caution over the state of the property market. This raises the...
19 June 2018
McCarthy & Stone and Ferguson“Global stocks repeat the pattern seen yesterday with declines across numerous markets amid growing fears about trade war tensions between the US and China. The FTSE 100 slips 0.7% to 7,578 with miners among the worst hit. Stock markets in Europe and Asia are also in the red,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
McCarthy & Stone“You...
18 June 2018
How investors can (just) make money tracking FTSE 100 relegations and promotions“The latest promotions to – and relegations from – the FTSE 100 index come into effect today and investors will be intrigued to see how shares in both relegated firms are down in early trading. G4S is down 3% and Mediclinic down 1%. A glance at the promoted firms will show that GVC is up 1% to perhaps suggest there is a trading strategy that could...
18 June 2018
Virgin Money/CYBG and South32“The FTSE 100 holds firm at the start of the new trading week, sitting still at 7,636. Gains among insurance, utility and banks stocks are offset by weakness among miners and pharma companies,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Virgin Money/ CYBG“The two companies may have reached an agreement on a recommended all-share business...
15 June 2018
Tesco keeps the tills ringing as Booker boosts sales momentum“ Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe may have been caught singing ‘We’re in the Money’ when his guard was temporarily down but Tesco boss Dave Lewis must be feeling equally pleased with himself after the first-quarter sales figures,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Sales grew on a like-for-like basis for the tenth straight quarter...
15 June 2018
Tesco and Rolls-Royce“The FTSE 100 stubbornly refuses to make any real progress with the index on track to make minimal gains this week. On Friday morning it was flat at 7,763. So far this year the FTSE 100 is up by a little less than 1%. Large gains between March and May merely recovered the losses experienced earlier in the year,” says AJ Bell Investment Director...
14 June 2018
Seventh rate hike from Fed sets stock market investors their latest challenge“The US Federal Reserve’s determination to continue tightening monetary policy, via both higher interest rates and sterilisation of Quantitative Easing, is likely to make life more difficult for investors, if history is any guide, even if financial markets are largely still behaving as if improved returns on cash and increased borrowing costs poses...
14 June 2018
AVEVA, Rolls-Royce and N Brown“The FTSE continues to be stuck in the mud, slipping 0.6% to 7,654 on Thursday with notable weakness in utility, mining and insurance stocks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
AVEVA“Thanks to its recent combination with Schneider Electric full year results from industrial software specialist AVEVA are fairly tricky to unpick. On some...
13 June 2018
Dixons Carphone and Connect“The FTSE 100 slips 0.2% to 7,685 on Wednesday morning. The market has lost momentum since its stellar run between March and May, perhaps because of the sheer amount of political noise causing investors to pause for thought until they can make sense of proceedings,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Dixons Carphone“Data breaches are...
12 June 2018
Halma shows how it is done with thirty-ninth consecutive dividend increase“It might not be a household name although a record of 39 consecutive increases of more than 5% in Halma’s annual dividend suggests that it should be, especially as this track record means the FTSE 100 firm is a good example of how a company that gets the basics right can reward patient investors,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
The...12 June 2018
Domino's Pizza, Boohoo and Housebuilders“Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s summit has failed to excite investors with the FTSE 100 unmoved on Tuesday morning at 7,736. This could be a temporary pause while markets wait for more solid information,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Domino's Pizza“The sudden departure of a company’s chief financial officer is rarely a good...
11 June 2018
Rolls-Royce and BCA Marketplace“Investors don’t appear to be overly worried about the latest state of affairs with international trade following the G7 meeting, given that markets in Asia and Europe move ahead on Monday. In the UK, the FTSE 100 moved up 0.5% in early trading to 7,718, helped by gains in utility, tobacco and financial stocks,” says Russ Mould, investment director...
8 June 2018
BT and Standard Life Aberdeen / Lloyds“The FTSE 100 looks set to end the week on a sour note with the blue chip index trading 0.7% lower on Friday morning at 7,650. The market is focused on the start of the G7 summit and for any signals regarding trade talks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
BT“Shareholders in BT have lost 24% of the value of their investment in the...
7 June 2018
Chancellor Hammond starts to reduce State exposure to the incredible shrinking bank“George Osborne received all sorts of criticism when he sold a 6% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland at 330p a share, for a £1 billion loss, back in 2015, so his successor Philip Hammond was always going to get a hard time if he sold any further Government holdings at less than the taxpayer’s 502p purchase price. Patriots may also be disappointed to...
7 June 2018
NAO hands out further criticism of Government – but ultimately Carillion was a failure of managementToday it is the turn of the National Audit Office to unpick and quantify the cost of the Carillion debacle. The NAO hands out further criticism of the Government’s efforts to monitor the financial health of central government’s sixth biggest supplier by value, suggesting it did too little too late to properly monitor the risk posed by its reliance...
7 June 2018
Mitie, Auto Trader and OnTheMarket“After an hour’s delay to opening the market, the FTSE 100 rises 0.4% to 7,744 thanks to yet another good day for the miners plus strength among financial companies,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Mitie“The outsourcing industry is doing its best to fight back after developing a terrible reputation for issuing profit warnings and...
6 June 2018
WH Smith and RPC“A 0.3% gain in the FTSE 100 to 7,708 on Wednesday is principally driven by the mining sector which is getting a boost from higher base metal and oil prices,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
WH SMITH
“People may grumble at WH Smith’s messy shops and excessive pricing on many products, yet this is a business which continues to...
5 June 2018
AO World and Johnston Press“After a weak open, the FTSE 100 recovered to trade flat on Tuesday morning ahead of Brexit talks later on,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
AO World“Investors are clearly willing to focus on AO World’s double-digit sales growth achieved in the year to 31 March judging by how the share price is rising today. However, if that’s the...
4 June 2018
DS Smith and CYBG/Virgin Money“It is encouraging to see the FTSE 100 start the new week with a firm push forward, rising 0.7% to 7,754 with notable gains from utility stocks and insurers,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
DS Smith“Packaging group DS Smith has proposed its second major acquisition in less than a year with a deal to buy Spanish rival Europac for...
1 June 2018
Dignity and Abbey“The FTSE 100 looks set to end the week on the front foot. The index enjoying strong gains on Friday morning despite the threat of a trade war between the US and several of its trading partners after a breakthrough overnight on the political deadlock in Italy,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Dignity“Just as funerals provider Dignity...
31 May 2018
FTSE recovers as European fears recede, FirstGroup is off track, CRH targets margin improvement“The FTSE 100 moved back above the 7,700 mark on Thursday morning as the euro rallied, reflecting reduced concern over the future of the eurozone,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
FIRSTGROUP
“If rails and buses business FirstGroup was looking for validation for its decision to rebuff a bid from US private equity firm Apollo then today...
29 May 2018
FTSE endures Bank Holiday hangover, kitchen sinking at Dixons Carphone, Smiths Group break-up calls to be realised?“Political chaos in Italy sees the FTSE 100 sink as traders return to their desks after the Bank Holiday, down 0.9% at 7,659.01,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
DIXONS CARPHONE
“Often when a new chief executive joins a company, particularly if has faced operational challenges or is in a difficult sector, he will look to rebase...
24 May 2018
Capital & Counties, TalkTalk and Electrocomponents“The FTSE 100 halted yesterday’s decline by holding firm at 7,792 on Thursday. The minutes of May’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting gave no hint of a faster pace of tightening in response to inflationary pressures. Investors are now taking a moment to catch their breath and try to make sense of where markets could head next and, in...
23 May 2018
Fat dividend yield may tempt M&S investors to wait patiently at the check-out (at least for now)“A sharp jump in Marks & Spencer’s shares this morning means that the retailer got its news management right, by releasing the details of big store closures ahead of its results, but the numbers themselves are nothing to be proud of and show just how much work there is still to be done,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“At least the...
23 May 2018
Marks & Spencer, Dairy Crest and Britvic Markets“The FTSE 100 goes into reverse and follows a similar pattern seen with Asian stocks earlier today as markets reacted to comments from US president Donald Trump regarding dissatisfaction with the latest round of trade talks with China.
“The commodities sector was worst hit with shares in miners and oil producers taking a tumble, not helped...
22 May 2018
Three reasons why the FTSE 100 could keep on running (and three why it might not)“The FTSE 100 continues to overcome investors’ concerns over the Brexit negotiations, a wobbly Government, indecisive central bank and modest UK economic growth as it reaches further new highs. There are three good reasons why the index could keep going, too, and launch a fresh assault on the 8,000 mark – although investors also need to be aware of...
22 May 2018
Halfords and Entertainment One“We’re nearly two months into one of the strongest rallies in the FTSE 100 for a long time, rising 14% since 26 March to 7,859.99 on Tuesday,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Halfords“News that Halfords’ 2018 underlying pre-tax profit is down on the previous year, plus guidance for no profit growth in the new financial year, would...
21 May 2018
Ryanair and NewRiver REIT“The market last week had its focus on whether the FTSE 100 would achieve a new record high, which it did – and does so again today. Now the focus is on how quickly the blue chip index can smash through the 8,000 level. On Monday it nudged ahead 0.6% or 47 points to 7,826, helped by the US and China trade war being put on hold and the US dollar...
18 May 2018
Lloyds Banking and Oil/Petrofac“Having succeeded last night in setting a new record high, the FTSE 100 takes a small step back thanks to weakness in pharmaceutical, utility and telecoms stocks.
“In early trading the index had slipped 0.2% to 7,774. Nonetheless, that level still means the FTSE 100 has recovered all of the losses caused by the global market sell-off in February...
17 May 2018
Gambling Companies / William Hill and Ocado“Is today the day that the FTSE 100 achieves a new record high at the market close? It is up 12 points to 7,746 on Thursday and only needs another 33 points to smash the all-time high achieved in January,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Gambling Companies / William Hill“Confirmation that the maximum stakes for fixed odds betting...
16 May 2018
Parliamentary report on Carillion is powerful – but now investors need to see action because we have been here before“The report prepared by the Parliamentary Business and Work and Pensions Committees on Carillion offers a clear analysis of what caused the company to collapse and offers a potent-looking list of potential responses, including a break-up of the big auditing firms, an overhaul of the UK’s corporate governance regime and how management teams are paid...
16 May 2018
Mitchells & Butlers, Crest Nicholson and Micro Focus“The FTSE 100 is now trading a mere 40 points from its all-time high of 7,778 achieved in January 2018 (on a market close basis). The blue chip index is trading 0.2% higher on Wednesday at 7,738 thanks to strength in natural resources stocks. Investors will be watching the market very closely to see if a new record can be set today or at least...
15 May 2018
Vodafone, Taylor Wimpey and EasyJet“The FTSE 100 is maintaining a calm manner on Tuesday, trading flat at 7,713. Strength among insurers and housebuilders is offset by weakness in telecoms and mining,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Vodafone“Standing down after a decade at the helm, Vodafone’s chief executive Vittorio Colao has struggled to do much for the share price...
14 May 2018
Centrica and Victrex“After last week’s impressive rally, the FTSE 100 is refusing to budge on Monday with the index flat at 7,722. This week’s big events include UK unemployment and wage growth figures on Tuesday, Japan’s latest GDP growth figure on Wednesday and full year results from Royal Mail on Thursday,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Centrica“It...
11 May 2018
ZPG, Carpetright and Crawshaw“The FTSE 100 is on track to end the week nearly 2% ahead, given its current position of 7,700 in early trading on Friday. Maintaining this pace of growth would put the blue chip index at new record highs early next week,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
ZPG“A takeover of Zoopla parent company ZPG could be a done deal as the £2.2bn...
10 May 2018
Next, Royal Bank of Scotland and BT“The FTSE 100 is now only inches away from hitting the all-time high achieved in January 2018 and potentially breaking a new record. The blue chip index traded at 7,670 in early trading on Thursday versus the all-time high of 7,778 four months ago,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Next“ Next has defied its critics by reporting a very...
9 May 2018
Five slick ways to play oil“Oil traders may have seen President Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 nuclear sanctions coming from some distance away but confirmation of the move and American plans to exclude OPEC’s third-biggest producer* from global markets is still giving a fresh lift to the price of crude,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Inve...
9 May 2018
Greggs, Imperial Brands and Compass“The FTSE 100 index is doing the very best to break through the 7,600 market and test the all-time highs seen earlier this year. Today it nudges up to 7,593 in early trading, helped by strength in oil stocks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Greggs“Sausage rolls specialist Greggs has become the latest victim of bad weather and weak...
8 May 2018
CYBG / Virgin Money and William Hill“The FTSE is on the verge of breaking through the 7,600 level once again, meaning it only has to rise by approximately 2.5% from the current 7,591 level in order to achieve a new record high. The previous market close record was 7,778 on 12 January 2018,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
CYBG / Virgin Money“ CYBG has often been seen as...
4 May 2018
HSBC, Games Workshop and International Consolidated Airlines“The FTSE 100 is on track to finish the week on a positive note, rising approximately 0.3% over the five trading days to 7,521. Next week’s main events include the Bank of England’s UK interest rate decision,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
HSBC“A disappointing first quarter reporting season for UK banks concludes with an...
3 May 2018
Glencore and Trinity Mirror“The impressive rally in the FTSE since late March stops to catch its breath on Thursday, trading flat at 7,538. Gains in the mining, oil and supermarket sectors are offset by weakness in utilities and insurers,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Glencore“Missing first quarter market expectations would often prompt a company to...
2 May 2018
Apple offers cash bonanza but still has three questions to answer“ Apple beat analysts’ forecasts for its second quarter, reassured on iPhone growth and upped its already massive cash returns to investors, by increasing its dividend and launching a new $100 billion share buyback scheme – but the fact that its shares rose only 2% after hours, shedding some of their initial gains, suggests that the tech firm has...
2 May 2018
Paddy Power Betfair, Sage and Ocado“The FTSE 100 enjoys another healthy rise on Wednesday morning as results from Apple surprised on the upside overnight,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Paddy Power Betfair“News of a £500m capital return to shareholders is not enough to save bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair from a bashing by the market this morning as it reports a weak...
1 May 2018
BP clears a high hurdle, Just Eat’s margin dilemma and National Grid is out of gas“The FTSE 100 trades slightly higher on Tuesday, continuing its impressive recovery from the recent lows seen in late March. Trading above the 7,500 mark, the index is back within striking distance of the record highs attained in January,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
BP“Oil company BP beating expectations on trading for the first...
30 April 2018
Investors must decide whether services and buybacks trump slowing smartphone sales at Apple“Tuesday’s second-quarter figures from Apple have huge implications for both the company’s own shares, the wider technology sector and even the whole US stock market, as they may leave investors having to decide whether they are happy to swap state-of-the-art technological engineering for financial engineering,” says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment...