Rainbow Rare Earths Phalaborwa project shaping up to be one of the lowest cost producers globally. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksRDSA.L Share News (RDSA)

  • There is currently no data for RDSA

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

London midday: Stocks erase losses but weak earnings limit upside

Thu, 30th Apr 2015 12:02

Uncertainty surrounding US monetary policy and a raft of poorly-received corporate earnings kept the FTSE 100 flat on Thursday morning, with the index fluctuating at its lowest in three weeks.The FTSE 100 was up just 0.09% at 6,952.66 by midday, with RBS, IAG and Schroders limiting upside after disappointing with results, while a number of other blue chips went ex-dividend. Nevertheless, the index did bounce off an intraday low of 6,906.24 reached early on.A 2.2% sell-off over the past two sessions saw the Footsie retreat from Monday's all-time closing high of 7,103.98 to 6,946.28 as of Wednesday's close. This was the lowest finish for the index since 8 April.Wednesday's Federal Reserve policy statement was in focus after officials issued a cautiously optimistic outlook on the economy, saying that the current economic slowdown is only temporary. This followed data showing that annualised US gross domestic product growth slowed to just 0.2% in the first quarter from 2.2% previously.Analysts at Danske Bank reckon that the Fed is still on track to hike rates by 25 basis points in September.However, Barclays said that the statement still left the door open for a rate hike as soon as June: "In our view, the lack of any specific calendar time suggests June will be a 'live' meeting, where rate hike deliberations will begin in more earnest."In economic data on Thursday, Eurozone consumer prices registered zero growth in April compared to a year ago, as expected by analysts. This was an improvement from the 0.1% annual decline seen in March.Meanwhile, Eurozone unemployment was unchanged at 11.3% in March, disappointing analysts who had expected a decline to 11.2%.IAG, RBS and Schroders fallAirline conglomerate IAG underwhelmed despite making its first-ever profit in the first quarter. The company beat expectations with an operating profit of €25m, compared with a €150m loss the year before.Royal Bank of Scotland made a £446m loss in the first quarter of the year, more than double what had been feared as it was hit by £453m of restructuring costs and set aside £856m for litigation and conduct charges.Financial services giant Schroders also fell as profits for the first quarter missed forecasts. The company did however beat estimates with a 6.5% increase in assets under management to £319.5bn.Royal Dutch Shell revealed a 56% drop in first-quarter earnings to $3.25bn but that wasn't as bad as the $2.5bn expected, helping the stock higher. Shell also shaved its capital investment budget for 2015 by $2bn to "$33bn or less".Medical services group Smith & Nephew edged higher as it reported a slight increase in first quarter revenue and reiterated its expectations for 2015.Shares in RPS Group dropped sharply after the industrial consultancy outfit said the continuing volatility in the oil and gas sector meant its energy business had a slower-than-expected start to the year.Zoopla, the residential property website group, soared after agreeing to acquire utility price comparison site uSwitch for up to £190m.A number of stocks were trading lower after going ex-dividend, including Centrica, Fresnillo, ITV, Reed Elsevier and Travis Perkins. Market MoverstechMARK 3,186.47 -0.02%FTSE 100 6,952.66 +0.09%FTSE 250 17,476.74 -0.03%FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Mail (RMG) 466.60p +5.04%Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,861.00p +2.51%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 473.00p +1.48%Shire Plc (SHP) 5,360.00p +1.32%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,095.00p +1.26%Persimmon (PSN) 1,703.00p +1.25%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 518.00p +1.17%Sports Direct International (SPD) 611.00p +1.08%St James's Place (STJ) 887.00p +1.03%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,204.00p +1.01%FTSE 100 - FallersITV (ITV) 251.10p -4.71%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 333.70p -4.52%Centrica (CNA) 256.60p -4.11%Anglo American (AAL) 1,103.50p -3.07%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 544.50p -2.59%Fresnillo (FRES) 724.50p -1.96%Meggitt (MGGT) 526.50p -1.59%Antofagasta (ANTO) 772.00p -1.53%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 187.70p -1.52%Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,073.00p -1.47%FTSE 250 - RisersZoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 209.80p +13.41%NMC Health (NMC) 743.00p +4.57%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 367.40p +3.52%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 82.25p +2.36%Premier Oil (PMO) 178.40p +2.29%Countrywide (CWD) 525.50p +2.24%Cairn Energy (CNE) 182.40p +2.18%UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 539.00p +2.08%Greencore Group (GNC) 355.40p +1.98%Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,497.00p +1.84%FTSE 250 - FallersOphir Energy (OPHR) 144.00p -11.06%RPS Group (RPS) 214.20p -9.28%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,196.00p -8.21%Berendsen (BRSN) 1,039.00p -4.59%Vedanta Resources (VED) 614.00p -2.92%Rexam (REX) 568.00p -2.66%Polymetal International (POLY) 524.50p -2.51%Cobham (COB) 294.80p -2.51%William Hill (WMH) 357.50p -2.51%National Express Group (NEX) 286.80p -2.45%
More News
7 Jan 2022 09:12

LONDON MARKET OPEN: "Apprehensive" trade as investors look to nonfarms

LONDON MARKET OPEN: "Apprehensive" trade as investors look to nonfarms

Read more
7 Jan 2022 08:17

LONDON BRIEFING: Shell warns on cash outflows but continues buybacks

LONDON BRIEFING: Shell warns on cash outflows but continues buybacks

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:57

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Shell says buybacks to continue "at pace"

LONDON MARKET PRE-OPEN: Shell says buybacks to continue "at pace"

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:49

Shell to proceed with share buyback 'at pace' despite weaker oil performance

(Sharecast News) - Royal Dutch Shell said its $7bn share buyback programme would continue "at pace" despite weaker oil product sales due to the Omicron Covid variant and forex headwinds in Turkey.

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:27

UPDATE 3-Shell pursues $7 billion buyback 'at pace' despite LNG troubles

* LNG production hit by outages in Australia* Marketing earnings impacted by Omicron slowdown (Adds share price)By Ron BoussoLONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said it will pursue "at pace" a $7 billion share buyback largely funded from t...

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:27

UPDATE 1-Shell to continue $7 bln buyback programme 'at pace'

(Adds detail)By Ron BoussoLONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday its $7 billion share buyback programme, of which $1.5 billion has been completed, will continue "at pace" despite a slowdown in fuel demand due to the Omicron COV...

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:27

UPDATE 2-Shell pursues $7 billion buyback 'at pace' despite LNG troubles

* LNG production hit by outages in Australia* Marketing earnings impacted by Omicron slowdown (Adds details, graphics)By Ron BoussoLONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said it will pursue its $7 billion share buyback programme after selling ...

Read more
7 Jan 2022 07:10

Shell to continue $7 bln buyback programme 'at pace'

LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday its $7 billion share buyback programme, of which $1.5 billion has been completed, will continue "at pace" despite a slowdown in fuel demand due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant.(Reporting b...

Read more
6 Jan 2022 23:48

U.S. court rejects laundromat owners' bid to block sale of Texas oil refinery to Mexico's Pemex

By Stefanie EschenbacherHOUSTON/MEXICO CITY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Thursday tossed out a request from two laundromat owners to block Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) from acquiring majority control of a Texas oil r...

Read more
6 Jan 2022 12:16

UPDATE 2-Key Kazakh oil fields pump despite protests

(Updates with Shell, details, background)By Ron Bousso and Rowena EdwardsLONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Oil production at Kazakhstan's top three fields is continuing even as some contractors gathered outside the largest Tengiz field in support of protes...

Read more
6 Jan 2022 12:00

Shell-backed U.S. solar developer raises $775 million in equity

By Nichola GroomJan 6 (Reuters) - Silicon Ranch Corp, the U.S. solar project developer backed by Royal Dutch Shell, on Thursday said it raised $775 million in equity capital from new and existing investors.The announcement comes as renewable energ...

Read more
5 Jan 2022 09:54

UPDATE 2-Commodity-linked stocks lift UK's FTSE 100 after dull start

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)* Ocado, LSEG, Ferguson gain as brokerages raise share ratings* Gains in oil majors offset risk-off sentiment* FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 of...

Read more
4 Jan 2022 17:00

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks start 2022 in style as airlines fly higher

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks start 2022 in style as airlines fly higher

Read more
4 Jan 2022 12:04

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Bright start to 2022 as travel stocks take off

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Bright start to 2022 as travel stocks take off

Read more
3 Jan 2022 13:26

U.S. refiner HollyFrontier warns of lower than expected throughput

Jan 3 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner HollyFrontier Corp's fourth-quarter throughput will be lower than forecast, hit by weather and turnaround setbacks at refineries in Washington, New Mexico and Oklahoma, the company warned on Monday.Flooding in B...

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.