Defence and banks stocks top tableM&A wave creates big winnersConsumer stocks on the skidsIt hasn't been a vintage year for the UK stock market, but there are signs investors are coming back attracted by the cheap valuations on offer compared with the US as well as decent earnings prospects for UK companies.The FTSE 350 index is up 5.5% year-to-date, with the FTSE 100 large-cap benchmark up...

Stocks in London headed into the long weekend on the front foot, outperforming their European peers.Markets in London will now shut for two public holidays, Good Friday and Easter Monday. They will reopen on Tuesday.The FTSE 100 index closed up 20.64 points, 0.3%, at 7,952.62. The FTSE 250 ended up 74.07 points, 0.4%, at 19,884.73, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.15 points, or 0.2%, at...

This column signed off last week by bemoaning telecoms testing specialist Spirent Communication?s (SPT) surrender to a £1 billion from US rival Viavi.As we observed, the 61% premium was not anywhere near as generous as it looked when you consider the takeout price of 172.5p was 100p less than the shares were trading for in early 2023. In the same spirit it is only right to welcome Currys?...

There was interesting market reaction to the recent decision (5 March) by builders merchant Travis Perkins (TPK) to slash its dividend by a whopping 58%.At first the stock was down a little but it quickly rebounded and actually began trading higher as the day progressed. Now it?s important to add some context, the shares had dropped by a quarter over the last 12 months and a cut was widely...

Testing kit supplier latest UK growth company to attract buyer175p per share offer a 60% premium to Monday?s closeStock had traded near 300p just a couple of years agoThere?s two ways of looking at Spirent Communication?s (SPT) agreed £1.01 billion takeover by US peer Viavi Solutions, a deal that saw Spirent shares rocket 60% to 173p. On the one hand, you could say it is further evidence of...

London?s blue-chips retreated on Tuesday ahead of key UK inflation data, which could show whether hopes for a spring interest rate cut from the Bank of England are too optimistic.Investors are also re-assessing whether the conviction that US interest rates will be cut in March is realistic, or wide of the mark. US rate cut bets have dwindled, though a cut in March is still the most likely...

European equities struggled to find their groove on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 finds gains hard to come by in a tricky January so far, while stocks in New York are set for a tepid return to trading.The FTSE 100 index was down 36.20 points, 0.5%, at 7,558.71. It has fallen over 2% since the start of the year. Heading into Tuesday, it had 10 days of trading in the new year. It rose in just three...

Most investors don't buy small caps through an index, it's much more of a stock picker's playing field. This is why opportunities can be spotted even in the face of lacklustre performance overall.While fund managers have been calling the turn for smaller companies all year with little success, Shares believes it has uncovered a good investment opportunity to buy into a fantastic 'made in the...

Spirent (SPT) 226.6pLoss to date: 17.6%We flagged the appeal of telecoms testing firm Spirent (SPT) at 275p on 12 January, seeing it as a smart way to play the rollout of 5G mobile network infrastructure. Sadly, a 20 January trading update materially undermined this hypothesis.WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE WE SAID TO BUY?Spirent provides testing, analytics and security services to the...

Many smartphone users will have access to 5G next generation mobile networks, particularly if you're in one of the UK's cities. This shows up as a 5G symbol in your notifications bar and you should notice faster streaming of music or video, for example.Yet we remain years away from 5G delivering fully on its long-term potential and testing group Spirent (SPT) is one of the best ways to invest...

With engineering software company Aveva (AVV) poised to exit the stock market thanks to a takeover, it will mean losing the UK's largest 'tech' firm by market value, at £9.15 billion.Aveva has been majority owned by French industrial group Schneider Electric (SU:EPA) since 2017 and this shareholder now wants the whole business.That's a slightly different bid situation to most of the other...

This year has been one of the most challenging for equity investors in years with major indices running up double-digit losses and Nasdaq, the poster child of growth investors, now in bear market territory.Even the relative stability of the UK stock market has been tested, with steep slides following every run higher.The FTSE All-Share index is now off around 1% in 2022, having been nearly 10%...

The FTSE 100 closed Thursday's session fractionally lower, off 0.06% at 7,585.01 points, though the FTSE 250 ended 0.27% higher at 22,714.98 as select travel and leisure names rallied, including EasyJet (EZJ), Trainline (TRN), TUI (TUI) and JD Wetherspoon (JDW).The blue chip benchmark began on the front foot, boosted by miners reacting to news from China, but a drop in the oil price and a...

London's FTSE 100 was flat by midday at 7,585.03 points as investors weighed the risks posed by interest rates and inflation and foods-to-fashion conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF) dipped lower, while the FTSE 250 crept 0.23% higher to 22,707.35.US stocks were expected to break higher after lurching back into the red in late dealings on Wednesday as investors continued to pore over...

The UK equity market started Thursday's trading struggling for direction despite positive trading updates from companies including Spirent Communications (SPT) and Associated British Foods (ABF).However the performance of overseas markets provided contradictory messages with the US equity markets ending their session on a weaker note, despite treasury yields retracing from their highs.In...

London's FTSE 100 finished Wednesday's trading session 0.3% to the good at 6,963.67 points, albeit off intra-day highs, as investors awaited the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve as well as updates from Apple and Facebook.Across the pond in the US, the benchmark S&P 500 traded slightly higher at 4,190.46 points by 4.30pm UK time.The UK's blue chip benchmark was buoyed by positive...

London's FTSE 100 traded in positive territory at midday on Wednesday, the blue chip benchmark bid up 0.6% to 6,982.9 points as positive corporate news on both sides of the Atlantic and optimism over the economic recovery in the UK following encouraging results from Lloyds (LLOY) buoyed investor sentiment.Overnight both Google-owner Alphabet and Microsoft reported quarterly earnings ahead of...

London's FTSE 100 rose 0.41% to 6,973.11 in early trading on Wednesday as optimism over the economic recovery grows while investors await the latest interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve.The Fed is unlikely to make any policy changes this time, though it is expected to acknowledge of the strengthening of the US economy, and it's been reported that this could be the last Fed...

UK stocks ended Thursday in positive territory as investors cautiously welcomed stimulus pledges from the European Central Bank to counter the pace of the selloff in bond markets.Rising interest rates and falling bond prices have rattled stock markets in recent weeks. Some ECB officials are reported to believe the selloff in bonds could prove a headwind to the economic recovery in Eurozone...

UK stocks fell into negative territory by midday on Thursday as markets trade cautiously ahead of the European Central Bank's latest policy decision this afternoon.The slow pace of the vaccine rollout across the Eurozone has fueled concerns its economic recovery is falling behind, with bank officials set to decide whether rising government-bond yields across the globe threaten the region's...