In this our final big feature as a weekly publication, the Shares team has gone to the ideas well one last time to identify five stocks that individual members of our team really like. There is a pretty broad spread of ideas both by market value and by sector, read on to discover more about these conviction plays and why the authors are such big fans. AG Barr (BAG) Price : 685p Market cap :...

LSEG directors buy the dip Convatec CEO lightens up Bank directors raise £10 million A trio of top executives at London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) took advantage of the recent fall in the stock price to scoop up more than 860,000 shares between them. The financial market and information group posted positivefirst-half results on 31 July, while raising its outlook and announcing a share...

Close scrutiny of the AIC's (Association of Investment Companies) UK Equity Income sector shows two trusts with strong retail followings occupying top and bottom spots in the five-year share price total return performance table, namely Temple Bar (TMPL) and Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT). In what represents a reversal of fortunes for two popular portfolios, the value-oriented former has...

London's FTSE 100 underperformed European peers on Wednesday, seeing little boost from a US-China framework on trade, while stocks in New York are set to fall on the opening bell there. In focus this afternoon is a US inflation reading as well as the UK spending review to be outlined by the chancellor. The FTSE 100 index edged up 6.64 points, 0.1%, at 8,859.72. The FTSE 250 was up 33.62...

London stocks rounded off the week in the green, after stronger-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls data, while eyes stateside were also on the feud between US President Donald Trump and Tesla boss Elon Musk. The FTSE 100 index rose 26.87 points, 0.3%, at 8,837.91. The FTSE 250 ended up 87.90 points, 0.4%, at 21,157.28, and the AIM All-Share climbed 2.42 points, 0.3%, at 756.88. For the week,...

Rathbones director sells shares Standard Chartered director cashes in Everyman CEO raises stake Sarah Owen-Jones, chief risk officer at wealth management group Rathbones (RAT), sold 13,000 shares at £15.90 for a total value of £206,700 on 8 May. Meanwhile, non-executive director Dharmish Mistry bought 2,500 shares at £16.05 for a total value of £40,125 on the same date. Over the past year...

Markets around the world have reacted with palpable relief to two major decisions by the Trump administration. First, on 9 April, reciprocal tariffs (except on China) were delayed for 90 days ? which proved the catalyst for the third-largest daily gain for US stocks since the Second World War. Many observers pegged the U-turn on movements in government bond yields which revealed declining...

Defensives hold up in sell-offNew appetite for growth stocksBanks unable to shake off lossesAs the dust settles from the three-day 'Liberation Day'-inspired sell-off, the list of winners and losers makes for interesting reading.Not everything which held up during the market meltdown is being sold off, and not everything which racked up big losses is rebounding, unlike in previous recoveries,...

The end of the tax year is now just a couple of weeks away so if you want to make use of any remaining ISA allowance your window to do so is rapidly closing.In this article the Shares team has put its collective heads together to identify a quintet of funds which we think are worthy of inclusion as part of a diversified portfolio. Some of these names may already be familiar but others are...

Bunzl CEO buys £303,110 sharesCMC deputy CEO buys £420,284 sharesC&C CEO buys 100,000 sharesFrank van Zanten, chief executive of outsourcing business Bunzl (BNZL), bought 10,000 shares for a total value of £303,110 on 6 March.Over the past month, Bunzl shares have fallen 14% despite the FTSE 100 company reporting a 2.2% rise in adjusted full year 2024 pre-tax profit (3 March), its 32nd year...

London's FTSE 100 ended little changed on Friday as strong UK retail sales lifted sentiment, while weak US business activity data and falling consumer confidence pressured Wall Street.The FTSE 100 index closed down just 3.60 points at 8,659.37. The FTSE 250 ended up just 1.12 points at 20,613.89, while the AIM All-Share closed up 1.48 points, 0.2%, at 718.02.For the week, the FTSE 100 was down...

London's FTSE 100 held steady on Friday as strong retail sales lifted sentiment, while UK borrowing concerns and mixed data capped gains. European markets were cautious ahead of Germany's upcoming election.The FTSE 100 index rose 9.70 points, 0.1%, at 8,672.67. The FTSE 250 jumped 170.56 points, 0.8%, at 20,783.33, and the AIM All-Share climbed 4.17 points, 0.6%, at 720.71.The Cboe UK 100 rose...

Q4 earnings exceed estimatesStrategy 'firing on all cylinders'Strong start to 2025Standard Chartered (STAN) topped the FTSE 100 in early dealings, the shares climbing 5% to a five-year high of £11.96 after the Asia, Africa and Middle East-focused bank delivered forecast-beating fourth-quarter earnings.In a show of confidence, the lender also launched a further US$1.5 billion buyback, bigger...

Dividends are a key component of successful investing whether taken as an income to support retirement or reinvested to compound future total returns.With interest rates set to fall as inflation is gradually brought back under control dividend yields will become more competitive as a source of income compared with income from cash and bonds.In this article we scour the FTSE 350 for the...

Earnings 'beat and raise'Interim dividend up 50%Buyback exceeds estimatesInvestors in London-based, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered (STAN) were treated to a quadruple helping of good news as half-year earnings beat forecasts, leading the group to raise its full-year guidance, hike the interim dividend by 50% and launch its largest-ever share buyback.The shares climbed 43p or 6% to 770p,...

The FTSE 100 finished strong on Thursday, coinciding with a successful day for New York stocks in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve?s status quo interest rate decision on Wednesday evening.The FTSE 100 index closed up 50.91 points, 0.6%, at 8,172.15. The FTSE 250 ended up 125.74 points, 0.6%, at 20,052.33, and the AIM All-Share closed up 3.13 points, 0.4%, at 768.11.The Cboe UK 100 ended up...

London?s blue-chips made steady progress on Thursday, whilst mid-caps struggled for direction, as investors took stock of the latest US interest rate call.The FTSE 100 index rose 28.57 points, 0.4%, at 8,149.81. The FTSE 250 edged down just 3.93 points to 19,922.66, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.50 of a point, 0.1%, at 765.48.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 813.60, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.2%...

London?s FTSE 100 made a bright start to trading on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell played down fears of an interest rate increase, although cuts remain on the back-burner.The FTSE 100 index rose 18.12 points, 0.2%, at 8,139.36. The FTSE 250 edged up just 4.56 points to 19,931.15, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.19 points, 0.2%, at 766.17.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at...

Standard Chartered Bank director sells £9.64 million sharesBAE Systems chair buys £180,779 sharesDarktrace CEO offloads over £700,000 sharesSimon Cooper, CEO corporate, commercial, and institutional banking, and Europe & Americas of Asian-focused Standard Chartered Bank (STAN) has sold 1,482,343 shares at 650p for a total value of £9.64 million on 14 March.The bank said last week that...

When a stock price makes a new 52-week high or low it is usually a sign of a strong trend. Going against the flow at these times is fraught with danger for investors betting for a sudden change in direction.That is because share prices tend to overshoot. Behavioural scientists have shown that investors overreact to bad news and underreact to good news.When bad news comes investors often sell...