Financial News

(updating with full details) LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK blue chips were higher in opening deals on Christmas Eve after the long-awaited Santa rally finally arrived Friday, with the DJIA posting a 200 point advance, although with just a half-day trading session and most dealers having already departed for the festive break overall gains were limited. At 8.55 am, the FTSE 100 index was 32.1 p ...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Leading shares remained higher midmorning, with the miners and Footsie newcomer TUI Travel providing some pre-Christmas cheer on a quiet day's trading. At 9.58 am, the FTSE 100 index was up 17.8 points at 6,451.9, while the FTSE 250 index added 68.0 to 10,599.6. Volume was thin, with 150.3 mln shares changing hands in 40,593 deals. Pre-weekend on Wall Street, the DJ ...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - (Updates with closing figures throughout) Asian stocks closed higher Monday as investors cheered Friday's strong performance on Wall Street, although volumes were subdued in the holiday-shortened week with some markets closed and most others finishing off early. The Japanese, Philippine, Indonesian and Thai markets were closed today. The South Korean Kospi was th ...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Shares in UK Coal PLC, Britain's biggest producer of coal, were higher on newspaper reports that the company had received a takeover approach for its coal and power-generation business by Vienna-based investment fund Meinl International Power Ltd. "UK Coal confirms that whilst, as is normal, from time to time it receives preliminary expressions of interest from t ...

MOSCOW (Thomson Financial) - Interros general director Andrey Klishas told Russia's Vedomosti newspaper that a merger between United Company Rusal (UC Rusal) and JSC MMC Norilsk Nickel would be "beneficial," but that UC Rusal has yet to provide any details on what sort of offer it might make. "Such a deal could be interesting and beneficial for all shareholders, it's only a questio ...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Leading shares look set for opening gains on Christmas Eve after the long-awaited Santa rally finally arrived Friday with the DJIA posting a 200 point advance, although with just a half-day trading session and most dealers having already departed for the festive break overall gains are likely to be limited. Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open aro ...

SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korean shares closed higher Monday on buying in blue chips as fund managers adjusted their portfolios on the last trading week of the year, with broader market sentiment lifted by Wall Street's gains Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 205 points, or 1.6 percent, on Friday after Research in Motion posted better-than-expected earnings and a report sai ...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares were higher in morning trade Monday following a positive session on Wall Street on Friday while gains in prices of crude oil and base metals also propped up the market ahead of a two-day break. The market will close early at 2.10 pm (0310 GMT) and will be shut tomorrow and on Wednesday for the Christmas Day and Boxing Day holidays. Trading will resum ...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Asian stocks rose Monday as investors cheered Friday's strong performance on Wall Street, although volumes were subdued in the holiday-shortened week and with some markets already closed and most others due to finish early. The Japanese, Philippine, Indonesian and Thai markets are closed today. The Korean Kospi was the best performer of the session, climbing 2.1 p ...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares closed higher Monday in an abbreviated session, as gains in crude oil and metals prices supported the market ahead of a two-day break. The market finished trade early and will be shut tomorrow and on Wednesday for the Christmas Day and Boxing Day holidays. Trading will resume on Thursday. "For a truncated trading day the result is positive on r ...