We would love to hear your thoughts about our site and services, please take our survey here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksVodafone Share News (VOD)

Share Price Information for Vodafone (VOD)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 70.00
Bid: 70.02
Ask: 70.06
Change: 0.92 (1.33%)
Spread: 0.04 (0.057%)
Open: 69.10
High: 70.20
Low: 68.84
Prev. Close: 69.08
VOD Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

London close: Stocks manage gains ahead of US payrolls report

Thu, 04th Apr 2024 15:58

(Sharecast News) - London markets closed higher on Thursday, driven by a robust showing from the mining sector and as investors contemplated the UK services sector's latest figures.

The FTSE 100 index rose 0.48% to 7,975.89, while the FTSE 250 saw gains of 0.61% to 19,873.19.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.11% on the dollar to trade at $1.2666, while it declined 0.16% against the euro, changing hands at €1.1658.

"Today's action on the FTSE 100 has been driven by a combination of mining stocks and yield plays," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"While the commodity rally might be taking a breather today, mining stocks like Fresnillo and Anglo American have been firm favourites of late, and there's no sign of that move slowing down.

"Meanwhile, investors continue to snap up yield stocks, as expectations of lower rates later in the year dominate."

Beauchamp added that a rise in unemployment claims was helping US stocks to build on Wednesday's recovery, but after a solid ADP report, traders were preferring to "sit on their hands" ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report.

"A procession of Fed speakers is also keeping risk appetite in check, though once more US indices appear to have successfully avoided a deeper sell-off, continuing the overall bullish theme."

UK business activity expands in March, still misses expectations

In economic news, the UK saw continued expansion in business activity during March, albeit slightly below expectations.

The S&P Global services purchasing managers' index (PMI) dipped to 53.1 from February's 53.8.

While still comfortably above the 50.0 mark indicating expansion, it fell short of the forecast 53.4, and signalled the slowest rate of growth since November last year.

The composite output index, which measures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, stood at 52.8, indicating a solid upturn despite a slight decrease from February's figure.

"The recovery in service sector output lost a little bit of momentum during March, and more so than suggested by the flash PMI results, but the overall picture remains reasonably positive," said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"Business activity has now expanded for five consecutive months, supported by sustained improvements in new order intakes.

"The solid growth rate achieved in March reinforces the view that a rebound in service sector performance is helping the UK economy to pull out of last year's shallow recession."

Elsewhere, new car registrations in the UK surged 10.4% in March, marking the strongest performance for the month since 2019, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Despite the growth, registrations remained 30.6% below pre-pandemic levels, reflecting ongoing challenges in the automotive industry.

Fleet investment drove much of the growth, rising by 29.6%, while registrations by private buyers fell by 7.7%, indicating a challenging economic environment.

"Market growth continues, fuelled by fleets investing after two tough years of constrained supply," commented SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.

"A sluggish private market and shrinking EV market share, however, show the challenge ahead.

"Manufacturers are providing compelling offers, but they can't single-handedly fund the transition indefinitely."

On the continent, economic activity in the eurozone's private sector showed signs of improvement, expanding for the first time in 10 months.

Revised figures from HCOB showed that the eurozone composite PMI rose to 50.3 in March, indicating growth across both manufacturing and services sectors.

The uptick suggested a potential turnaround in economic activity after months of contraction.

In the US, however, layoff announcements continued to rise in March, according to consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The number of announcements increased 7% compared to February, reaching 90,039.

While the figure was similar to that of March last year, job cut announcements for the first quarter surged 120% compared to the prior quarter, indicating ongoing challenges in the labour market despite signs of economic recovery.

Entain rises on management changes, ex-divs hog the downside

On London's equity markets, Entain rose 5.11% after announcing the departure of its chair Barry Gibson and the appointment of Stella David as the new CEO.

Meanwhile, miners Anglo American and Antofagasta both rose as metals prices climbed.

"Miners were in demand as commodities prices continued to surge - an inflationary development which might provoke some nervousness about the fate of long-awaited interest rate cuts," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

BT Group rallied by 2.77% following an endorsement from JPMorgan, which highlighted the undervaluation of its shares and the potential for a significant re-rating.

Future soared 10.43% after it reported a return to organic revenue growth, primarily driven by strong performances in various sectors.

Ascential also saw demand rise, jumping 2.56%, after unveiling plans to return £850m to shareholders.

Dowlais Group advanced by 3.11% after initiating a £50m share buyback, while Aston Martin Lagonda Global surged by 3.52%, coinciding with positive sales news from Volvo.

Drax Group edged up by 1.03% after securing a new £150m term-loan facility to refinance its debt.

On the downside, Vodafone Group experienced a 1.54% decline as regulatory concerns loomed over its merger with CK Hutchison's Three.

Ocado Group slipped by 1.83% following the announcement of chairman Rick Haythornthwaite's upcoming departure.

Ex-dividends were a drag, with InterContinental Hotels Group, Rentokil Initial, IMI, Direct Line, Domino's Pizza, Games Workshop, Hammerson, and OSB Group all in the red due to the absence of entitlement to dividends.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,975.89 0.48%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,873.19 0.61%

techMARK (TASX) 4,473.14 0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Entain (ENT) 797.40p 5.03%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,198.00p 4.67%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,420.50p 3.42%

Fresnillo (FRES) 540.50p 3.15%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,110.50p 3.05%

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 280.50p 2.86%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 53.86p 2.83%

easyJet (EZJ) 569.80p 2.63%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,742.00p 2.54%

Barclays (BARC) 193.16p 2.45%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 417.20p -5.03%

St James's Place (STJ) 448.20p -2.48%

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,637.00p -2.12%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 7,954.00p -1.90%

Croda International (CRDA) 4,671.00p -1.58%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 70.10p -1.54%

Whitbread (WTB) 3,227.00p -1.53%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 289.20p -1.43%

Compass Group (CPG) 2,221.00p -1.24%

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,650.00p -1.22%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Future (FUTR) 695.00p 15.93%

Mitie Group (MTO) 114.60p 8.32%

Pagegroup (PAGE) 485.20p 7.68%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,286.00p 5.64%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 97.00p 4.53%

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 664.50p 3.75%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 167.50p 3.52%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 69.00p 2.99%

Mobico Group (MCG) 65.65p 2.98%

Hays (HAS) 96.65p 2.93%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

OSB Group (OSB) 365.60p -3.43%

Hammerson (HMSO) 27.82p -2.52%

Abrdn (ABDN) 140.60p -1.64%

Jlen Environmental Assets Group Limited NPV (JLEN) 90.10p -1.64%

Me Group International (MEGP) 166.80p -1.53%

Hill and Smith (HILS) 1,936.00p -1.53%

Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,203.00p -1.39%

Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 341.80p -1.38%

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 112.00p -1.32%

Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 189.50p -1.20%

More News
16 Apr 2024 08:41

Vodafone appoints SAP's Marika Auramo as CEO of Business arm

(Alliance News) - Vodafone Group PLC on Tuesday said Marika Auramo has been appointed as chief executive of Vodafone Business.

Read more
16 Apr 2024 07:46

Vodafone taps SAP executive to lead business division

(Sharecast News) - Vodafone announced the appointment of Marika Auramo as chief executive of Vodafone Business on Tuesday, effective from 1 July.

Read more
4 Apr 2024 08:47

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Shares rise despite US interest rate unease

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 edged higher on Thursday morning, despite lingering US interest rate worries hanging over equities, while gold notched another record high in earlier trade.

Read more
4 Apr 2024 07:43

LONDON BRIEFING: Vodafone-Three deal faces deeper UK probe

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is called to open higher on Thursday, despite remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell failing to soothe lingering interest rate worries.

Read more
4 Apr 2024 07:37

CMA to launch in-depth probe into Vodafone's merger with Three

(Sharecast News) - The Competition and Markets Authority said on Thursday that it will launch an in-depth investigation into the planned £15bn merger between Vodafone and CK Hutchison's Three that was announced last year.

Read more
28 Mar 2024 15:05

Directors dealings: Vodafone chairman follows in CFO's steps, buys shares

(Sharecast News) - Vodafone's chairman bought a big batch of shares in the telecommunications outfit just ahead of the Easter break.

Read more
28 Mar 2024 13:54

IN BRIEF: Vodafone Chair Boxmeer buys GBP570,000 in shares

Vodafone Group PLC - Berkshire, England-based telecommunications provider - Chair Jean-Francois van Boxmeer buys 823,500 shares at GBP0.69 each, worth GBP568,215, in London on Wednesday.

Read more
27 Mar 2024 09:40

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Sainsbury's, Petershill Partners upped to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Wednesday morning and Tuesday:

Read more
26 Mar 2024 11:21

Vodafone Germany to cut 2,000 jobs in revamp

FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Vodafone Germany aims to save around 400 million euros ($434.48 million) over the next two years as part of a restructuring that will hit some 2,000 jobs, the company said on Tuesday.

Read more
26 Mar 2024 11:15

UPDATE: Vodafone Germany cuts 2,000 jobs as part of savings programme

(Alliance News) - Vodafone GmbH is cutting and relocating around 2,000 jobs in a bid to save EUR400 million in the next two years, the Dusseldorf, Germany-based subsidiary of Vodafone Group PLC announced on Tuesday.

Read more
26 Mar 2024 10:43

Vodafone Germany: 400-mln-eur restructuring to affect 2,000 jobs

BERLIN, March 26 (Reuters) - Vodafone Germany said on Tuesday that it aims to save around 400 million euros ($434.48 million) over the next two years as part of a transformation programme that will affect some 2,000 jobs.

Read more
26 Mar 2024 10:42

Vodafone Germany cutting 2,000 jobs as part of savings programme

(Alliance News) - Vodafone GmbH is cutting and relocating around 2,000 jobs in a bid to save EUR400 million in the next two years, the Germany, Dusseldorf-based subsidiary of Vodafone Group PLC announced Tuesday.

Read more
22 Mar 2024 16:09

London close: Stocks mixed as Bailey hints at rate cuts

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in a mixed state on Friday as investors weighed optimistic retail sales data against remarks from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

Read more
22 Mar 2024 11:46

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: FTSE 100 boosted after week of rate decisions

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 in London were higher at midday on Friday, as investor sentiment remained high, after there were no surprises from UK and US central banks this week.

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.