19 May 2021 | 16:36pm
StockMarketWire.com - Global inflation worries, with UK consumer prices rising faster than expected in April, kept markets on the back foot on Wednesday with the FTSE 100 closing down 1.2% to 6,950.20.
By 4.30pm UK time the US S&P 500 index was 1% lower at 4,084.86.
Premier Foods dipped 0.2% to 102.2p, having declared a dividend for the first time in 13 years after its annual profit more than doubled.
The maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy enjoyed high demand for groceries during lockdowns that helped it reduce a large debt pile. It recommended a final dividend of 1p per share.
Specialist media group Future rallied 11.5% to £26.70 as it forecast full-year results materially ahead of market expectations, after its first-half profit more than doubled.
1 March 2021 | 11:54am
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 was up 1% to 6,550.74 by midday after the big recent sell-off in the bond market eased. US futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street too.
Other positive drivers for the FTSE included the launch of a new Covid vaccine and progress towards passing a big US stimulus package. The Johnson & Johnson shot, expected to be distributed this week, will be the first single-dose vaccine anywhere on the market.
Halfords, a motoring and cycling products and services provider, upgraded its outlook on profit, citing a strong-than-expected performance during its fiscal fourth quarter of the year. The shares surged 11.7% to 323.5p.