17 March 2021 | 08:25am
StockMarketWire.com - UK stocks opened modestly lower on Wednesday as investors braced for a crucial announcement by the US Federal Reserve later in the day about the direction of monetary policy.
At 0818, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 8.24 points, or 0.1%, at 6,794.24.
Any sign that the Fed might ease off on its dovish stance on interest rates would indicate the US economy was on the mend, but could spook markets grown accustomed to an abundance of cheap credit.
Wealth management company Hargreaves Lansdown climbed 2.6% to £15.89, having upgraded its profit outlook after reporting elevated share dealing volumes since the end of January.
17 March 2021 | 12:11pm
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 slumped by lunchtime ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting later and as Germany downgraded growth forecasts. At midday the index was down 0.6% to 6,763.43.
Any sign that the Fed might ease off on its dovish stance on interest rates would indicate the US economy was on the mend, but could spook markets grown accustomed to an abundance of cheap credit.
Wealth management company Hargreaves Lansdown climbed 0.9% to £15.63, having upgraded its profit outlook after reporting elevated share dealing volumes since the end of January.
Hargreaves Lansdown now expected pre-tax profit for the year through June 2021 modestly above the top end of analyst expectations ranging from £334 million to £360 million.
17 March 2021 | 07:59am
StockMarketWire.com - Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo rolled out a special dividend following strong annual performance as profit jumped thanks to rising production volumes and the destocking process in the first half.
The company proposed a special interim dividend of 39.6 US cents, taking the total dividends for the year 2020 to 72.6 US cents, up from 19.8 US cents last year.
Pellet production rose 7% to 11,218kt and sales volumes were up 17%.
For the 12 months ended 31 December 2020, pre-tax profit jumped to $747.9 million from $459.6 million as revenue rose 13% to US$1.7 billion.
Looking ahead, the company expects to deliver a further increase in production from the level seen in 2020.