UK stocks got off to a strong start on Friday as lingering fears of a no-deal Brexit kept the pound under pressure, assisting exporters.The pound slumped by around half a US cent after Bank of England policy committee member Michael Saunders indicated that UK interest rates may be cut due to Brexit uncertainty.At 8:48am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 66.62 points, or 0.9%, at...

Andrews Sykes (ASY:AIM), the UK specialist in pumping, heating and cooling hire, has revealed a double-digit rise in revenues in 2018 and a 21% rise in earnings to 40.4p, which has pushed the shares up 9% today to 630p.READ MORE ABOUT ANDREWS SYKES HEREREDUCING THE SEASONALITYThe business typically sees a big seasonal benefit in the second half of the year due to better margins on its air...

The support services sector is a bit like the stock market's pick 'n' mix segment. Constituent companies come from a wide variety of industries and sub-sectors, with often little to link them to each other.Yet substantial investment returns are possible, as a look through the sector's best performing stocks of the last three months illustrates.In top spot is Berendsen (BRSN), a company that...

There are numerous high-quality screening tools available on the internet that can help you to spot opportunities in the market. These can quickly scan a vast number of shares to identify those that meet your preferred technical or fundamental criteria.Most people who use these sorts of filters start with a fairly simple objective like identifying the highest yielding shares or the stocks with...

Committing to a progressive dividend policy has become a popular way for companies trying to catch the eye of investors.Dividends play an important role on the stock market and businesses which pay out a big chunk of earnings are rewarded, often handsomely, by an appreciating share price. Performance on the FTSE 350 Higher Yield Index versus its Lower Yield counterpart shows this...

Trading looks like it is picking up for climate control firm Andrews Sykes (ASY:AIM) and could be set for another boost if July's hot weather continues.Office air conditioning units were straining under the warmest July temperatures on record earlier this month, hitting up to 36.7C at Heathrow airport. Commercial demand for additional, temporary or replacement systems could prove a further...

The stock market's smallest and riskiest companies have always held fascination for private investors. On the premise that 'elephants don't gallop, but fleas leap,' to borrow Jim Slater's often quoted phrase, it's easier for a tiny company to double its size, and investor's money, than for a big one. Let's face it, a blue chip company worth £1 billion will find it much harder to double or...

Yesterday's modest gains are wiped out as investors cool on equity markets on a quiet end to the week. The FTSE 100 eases off by 17 points in early tradingto 6,623, the blue-chip index's lowest level since early August. Mike Ashley's pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap sports and fashion retailer Sports Direct (SPD) heads the Footsie faller board just a day after backing a Tesco (TSCO) turnaround,...