London's blue chip index was mostly flat at the market open on Friday, while its peers in Paris and Frankfurt rose, as data showed UK car production declined in the first quarter, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves is in Washington for economic talks with the US. The FTSE 100 index opened down 0.70 points at 8,406.74. The FTSE 250 was up 48.43 points, 0.3%, at 19,552.80, and the AIM All-Share was...

London's FTSE 100 opens on the front foot on Thursday, edging 3.27 points higher to 7,192 following a mostly positive turn by Wall Street overnight and a mixed session in Asia this morning.In corporate news, travel agent Thomas Cook (TCG) tumbles 7% to 85.6p as investors are left unimpressed by first quarter results, revenues up a meagre 1% to £1.6bn and losses modestly reduced. Tourists are...

London shares make steady if unspectacular gains in early trade on Friday with a mixed bag of resources, financials and leisure stocks leading the way. The FTSE 100 index edges around 38 points higher, or 0.6%, to 5,936, lending hopes that UK blue-chips could test 6,000 levels later in the day or perhaps early next week.Miners were in the lens behind Anglo American (AAL) following on from a...

The start of 2016 has seen one the biggest sell-offs to confront investors since markets hit rock bottom in the wake of the global financial crisis in March 2009. Though the direction of travel has been north in the last seven years there have been some big lurches south through that period. We take a look at six major corrections to see if there is anything you can learn to prepare for the...

London stocks are on the front foot in early trade on Tuesday, driven by a swathe of food and fashion updates, including better-than-expected trading from supermarket Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW) and department stores chain Debenhams (DEB). The FTSE 100 index pushes around 26 points, or 0.45%, higher to 5,898, with midcaps and smaller companies also in positive territory.Major European...

If you believe mining shares look oversold following a slump in commodity prices then a newly-listed fund provides exposure to lots of junior diggers. The team behind the successful Resources Investment Trust, which trebled in value between 2002 and 2008, is back with a new venture that has stakes in 41 mining, oil and gas tiddlers.Global Resources Investment Trust (GRIT) floated on 7 March at...

Two months ago (see Shares, Commodities 2 May), we highlighted project economics and cashflow as the hot topics on investors' minds when they research the natural resources sector. While these themes remain priorities today, portfolio builders are still interested in the junior end of the market and how value can be created either through opportunistic acquisitions or traditional...