Investors appear to be regaining confidence after a volatile period last week with markets marching forward across the UK, mainland Europe and Asia on Monday morning, the FTSE 100 climbing 26.4 points higher to 7,040.3 and the FTSE 250 up almost 140 points at 18,729.Industrial components distributor Diploma (DPLM) ticks up 7.3% to £13.90 on strong full year results revealing 9% growth in...

London equities begin the week on the front foot in early trade on Monday after a gruelling Friday session saw key indices plumb depths not seen for some time. Today's boost comes from reassuring action by China's central bank which has introduced measures to stem capital outflows. The People's Bank of China said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on...

UK stocks make modest gains in early trade on Monday with investors agreeing with Bank of England policymakers' view that interest rates must rise 'relatively soon.' China is also again in focus after reports on industrial production and retail sales.The FTSE 100 index rises around 35 points, or 0.6%, to 6,152, matching similar gains across Europe's major markets. Midcaps and Small Cap indexes...

Financial restructuring at pubs group Punch Taverns (PUB) has investors running scared and the shares collapsing 25% to 10.75p. The effective debt for equity swap deal being proposed would still leave more than £1.5 billion of net debt on the books.A robust full year performance from computer-aided design software supplier AVEVA (AVV) pulls in the bargain hunters and fires the shares 11%...

Car dealer Lookers (LOOK) - a recent Shares Play of the Week - issues record half-year figures, triggering earnings upgrades from the analyst community. Alas, the shares lose their gains from early trading to fall 1.8% at 126.25p. Pre-tax profits are up 19.5% to £28.8 million, there's strong cash flow and debt reduction and shareholders will enjoy a 10% dividend hike. New and used car sales...

Construction delays in France have put shares in Wolseley (WOS) into reverse. The building materials group fell 3.8% to £32.32 after European weakness overshadowed improvements in the UK and US. Charles Stanley analyst Tony Shepard notes a 59% rise in the share price over the past 12 months, helped by a sector re-rating on the back of cyclical recovery hopes. 'This has lifted the share rating...