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Week ahead: Fedspeak, UK CPI, global PMIs in focus
Investors' focus over the coming week will be on the US central bank amid a continuing heavy calendar of Fed speakers, especially during the first half of the week.
Sector movers: Miners pace gains
Miners fared best at the end of the week as metals' prices, in particular, continued to race higher.
Europe close: Stocks end on mixed note
European shares ended on a mixed note on Friday as investors digested eurozone inflation data, although luxury goods maker Richemont surged despite a fall in fourth-quarter sales.
London close: Stocks recoup some earlier losses
London stocks remained in negative territory by Friday's close, although they managed to recoup some of the losses seen earlier in the session as Wall Street opened with positive momentum.
Chrysalis confident in Wefox despite reports of insolvency risk
Chrysalis Investments addressed recent media coverage concerning its portfolio company, Wefox on Friday, after Sky News reported that the European insurer had warned of an insolvency risk.
Yescoin is revolutionizing crypto games
Yescoin is revolutionizing social gaming on Telegram, boasting an impressive tally of 800,000 players within just a few weeks of its launch. At its peak, the game captivated 195,000 simultaneous users, dramatically surpassing the engagement levels of many other crypto games.
Weekly review
The FTSE 100 ended the week down 13.5 points, or 0.16%, closing at 8,420.26 on Friday.
China moves to spark housing market with offer to buy empty homes
The Chinese central bank moved again to help the struggling property sector on Friday by relaxing lending rules and offering to buy commercial real estate, as data showed house prices in major cities fell last month.
Fulcrum Metals extends date for sale of uranium assets
Fulcrum Metals announced an extension to the completion date for the proposed sale of its Saskatchewan uranium projects to Terra Balcanica Resources on Friday.
The Body Shop administrators to put retailer up for auction
The Body Shop administrators will put the chain up for auction after concluding that an alternative restructuring of the high-street retailer would not be viable.
FTSE 100 movers: Miners rally; Auto Trader hit by downgrade
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 8,425.53 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Europe midday: Shares lower as investors mull EZ inflation data
European shares continued in downbeat mood on Friday as investors digested eurozone inflation data, while luxury goods maker Richemont surged despite a fall in fourth-quarter sales.
Eurozone inflation steady in April
Eurozone inflation was unchanged in April, as expected, according to figures released by Eurostat on Friday.
Ethernity inks investment deal with New Tech Capital
Network processing semiconductor technology specialist Ethernity Networks announced a structured investment agreement with New Technology Capital Group (New Tech) on Friday.
First Property warns of loss in year just ended
First Property Group said in an update on Friday that its underlying trading profits for the year ended 31 March were expected to align with market forecasts.
Hummingbird announces restart at Kouroussa
Hummingbird Resources announced the remobilization of Corica Mining Services at the Kouroussa Gold Mine in Guinea on Friday, after a work stoppage on March 17.
PipeHawk subsidiary awarded £0.75m contract
PipeHawk announced on Friday that an unnamed building materials company had awarded its subsidiary QM Systems a significant contract.
CMA drops investigation into Microsoft-Mistral AI partnership
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Friday that the partnership between Microsoft and Mistral AI did not qualify for a full investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act.
Drilling to start on Oracle's Northern Zone project
Oracle Power announced on Friday that drilling is set to start next week at the Northern Zone Gold Project, 25 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
London midday: FTSE stays down; Auto Trader hit by downgrade
London stocks were still in the red by midday on Friday, having taken their opening cue from a downbeat close on Wall Street.
Broker tips: FRP Advisory, AutoTrader
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on liquidators FRP Advisory from 175.0p to 200.0p on Friday, stating the group's FY24 update delivered "sizeable upgrades".
Land Securities nearly halves FY losses
Commercial properties business Land Securities said on Friday that losses had nearly halved in the twelve months ended 31 March amid continued operational strength, as values for best assets began to stabilise.
Petra Diamonds reports mixed results from latest tender
Petra Diamonds announced the results of its sixth tender for the 2024 financial year on Friday, revealing a mixed performance in its rough diamond sales.
Sainsbury's enters five-year AI partnership with Microsoft
J Sainsbury announced a five-year partnership with Microsoft on Friday, aimed at enhancing customer and colleague experiences through artificial intelligence (AI).
Berenberg hikes target price on FRP Advisory
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on liquidators FRP Advisory from 175.0p to 200.0p on Friday, stating the group's FY24 update delivered "sizeable upgrades".