22 July 2016
Vodafone, CRH, Inland Homes"The FTSE 100 drifted lower at the market open, taking its cue from weakness in the US and Asia overnight and with few macro drivers to provide direction heading into the weekend,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
"Mobile telecoms giant Vodafone beat expectations with a 2.2% increase in first quarter organic service revenue against...
21 July 2016
Easyjet, William Hill, Hochschild Mining“The FTSE 100 slipped into negative territory at the market open ahead of the European Central Bank’s first meeting since the UK’s vote to leave the EU,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ EasyJet could be in store for a difficult fourth quarter after reporting a 7.7% decline in revenue per seat for the previous three months. Increased...
20 July 2016
Inflation inches higher but is still well below the Bank of England’s target“An acceleration in UK inflation to 0.5% year-on-year in June from 0.3% in May gives some potential hint of what the pound’s plunge against the dollar, euro and yen could mean going forward", says Russ Mould, AJ Bell Investment Director.
“The 0.5% increase in the consumer price index (CPI) exceeded the consensus forecast of 0.4% and took inflation...
20 July 2016
BHP Billiton, Wizz Air and Restore“The FTSE 100 holds steady on a quiet day for large cap corporate news following mute trading on Asian and US markets. This might be the calm before the storm as reporting season gets in full swing next week with a multitude of FTSE 350 companies releasing numbers,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
There is a good chance the earnings...
15 July 2016
How to check the foundations of commercial property fundsIn the past fortnight or so, a number of open-ended commercial property funds available on the AJ Bell Youinvest platform have suspended trading, instituted fair pricing, or significantly varied the terms of trading, to the understandable consternation of investors.
This is in response to widespread redemptions, as some investors have attempted to...
14 July 2016
Interest rates, bikes and fashion“The FTSE 100 was caught on the hop after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee unexpectedly voted by 8-1 against any change in interest rates from their historic low of 0.5% or its £375 billion Quantitative Easing programme,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould. “The market quickly sold off, erasing a 1% gain in the FTSE 100 in a...
13 July 2016
JD Wetherspoon, Barratt and Burberry“The FTSE 100 opened in negative territory as cautious investors await tomorrow's Bank of England interest rate decision. Attention is also focused on another busy day in Westminster with new Prime Minister Theresa May set to announce key cabinet appointments, including those who will be responsible for handling the UK's departure from the European...
12 July 2016
ASOS, Galliford Try and Shire“Blue-chips confounded forecasts and opened in positive territory following Wall St overnight and Asia this morning, as traders cautiously welcomed the appointment of Theresa May as incoming UK prime minister on Wednesday to succeed David Cameron,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Online fashion group ASOS saw no sign of falling...
11 July 2016
SThree, Ortac and Landore“The FTSE 100 hit an 11-month high and the FTSE 250 continued to rally post-Brexit as speculation the Bank of England would stimulate the economy through looser monetary policies boosted investor confidence,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Specialist staffing group SThree had a mixed first half. Continental Europe remained the group’s...
11 July 2016
Frenkel Topping, group CPL Resources and McBride“The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot after upbeat US jobs data sparked Asian markets into action although any major northbound charge was constrained by struggling oil prices,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ Frenkel Topping was an early faller after half-year revenues were flat and pre-tax profits fell. The group, which...
8 July 2016
Kibo Mining, 1pm and Ilika“The blue-chip index moved into positive territory with housebuilders Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon all to the fore and on better-than-expected US new job figures,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Tanzania-focussed Kibo Mining’s shares were up after it revealed results of the mining definitive feasibility study for...
8 July 2016
Time to take a long-term look at stock marketsWhen questioned about the implications of the volatility witnessed in stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies and even property over the past two weeks, this column continues to rely on a quote from Benjamin Graham, the legendary US investor and mentor to Warren Buffett: “In the short run, markets are a voting machine but in the long run it is a...
8 July 2016
Johnston Press, AVEVA and Churchill China“The FTSE100 confounded forecasts and nudged higher in early trading despite negative overnight moves on Wall Street and in Asia ahead of today's US jobs report,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“The thirst for information surrounding the EU referendum has been a fillip for newspaper publishers and Johnston Press was a strong early...
7 July 2016
Marks & Spencer, Associated British Foods and Great Portland Estates“The FTSE 100 made a positive start with US markets recovering from a sluggish start to close higher overnight, on better-than-expected manufacturing data and the Federal Reserve’s latest comments on interest rates,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Investors’ hopes for a long-awaited upturn in Marks & Spencer’s clothing business...
6 July 2016
Carillion, Booker and Topps Tiles“The FTSE 1000 confounded pessimistic forecasts and moved into positive territory after an opening dip despite US and Asian markets reacting negatively to the Bank of England’s financial stability update with the Nikkei particularly affected by the impact of falling bond yields,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Construction and support...
6 July 2016
Builders and banks are highest yielders in FTSE 100 following Brexit voteDramatic share price movements following the UK’s vote to leave the EU have resulted in Banks and Housebuilders dominating the dividend yield charts for the FTSE 100, with Lloyds now on a prospective dividend yield of over 8% for 2016 according to consensus analyst forecasts. However, there are now question marks over whether the dividend policies...
5 July 2016
Persimmon, Gleeson and Forterra“The FTSE 100 slipped into negative territory ahead of today's financial stability report from the Bank of England. Asian markets offered little overnight support as investors opted to take profits following the recent rally,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
House-builders have suffered in the wake of the Brexit vote but any...
4 July 2016
Fresnillo, Clarksons and Kier“The FTSE 100 opened higher after Chancellor George Osborne’s proposal to cut corporation tax from 20% to 15% following the Brexit vote,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Investor hunger for defensive stocks was underlined by an early surge in Fresnillo’s shares despite a technical glitch at its San Julian project in Mexico. Fresnillo...
1 July 2016
BHP Billiton, RSA Insurance and Gama Aviation“The FTSE 100 continued to display post-Brexit momentum with investors maintaining the trend of buying defensive stocks while also being encouraged by the prospect of fresh stimulus from the Bank of England after Governor Mark Carney signalled that some monetary policy easing would be required,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ BHP...
1 July 2016
EnQuest, ECO Animal Health and Concurrent Technologies“The FTSE 100 opened in positive territory, as widely predicted, following Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s strong hint of a potential cut to already low interest rates after the 'Leave' referendum result. Asian and US markets also pushed higher overnight,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“ EnQuest made early gains after it...
1 July 2016
Brexit one week onWhat a shock last Friday was. I woke up and the world looked very different.
A fitful night’s sleep had enabled me to keep abreast of how the result was heading and I had already planned a series of early morning calls with my team. “The market is shut for business, the maximum market size in Unilever is £100,..” was the first bit of news. “The PM...
30 June 2016
Costain, Wood Group and by Legal & General“The FTSE 100 was lower in early trading with London's main market seemingly running out of steam following the rally seen over the past couple of days when Brexit concerns were temporarily put to one side,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Engineering solutions provider Costain was an early riser with investors noting the group’s...
29 June 2016
The four key portfolio issues to address as the UK prepares to “Leave”The British electorate has spoken and the UK has decided to “Leave” the European Union. The Prime Minister is going, the Leader of the Opposition is under the cosh from his own party and the fate of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is uncertain. Meanwhile, there is no clarity on when (or even whether) the UK will invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of...
29 June 2016
Nostra Terra, Stagecoach and GoldStone Resources“Equities continued to make positive gains as risk sentiment improved after the UK's decision to leave the EU with house-builders, which suffered some of the sharpest falls on the Brexit vote, prominent blue-chip risers,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Nostra Terra’s shares soared after the group accepted $2.1m for its 20% stake in...
29 June 2016
Dixons Carphone, Brammer and Circle“Blue-chips opened in plus territory adding to yesterday's solid gains as traders followed the positive progress made in the US and Asia overnight,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
Dixons Carphone is bullish its about prospects following the Brexit vote while underlining the importance of the UK continuing to have access to the...