Housebuilder Barratt Redrow (BTRW) delivered a disappointing H1 trading update, sending its shares down 7% or more. ‘A resilient performance in a subdued market’ was not what investors wanted to hear at this point. Share price: 360p (-7.6%) PE: 15x Market cap: £5.1bn Yield: 4.25% Flat reservations For the six months to December, home completions were 7,444, a 4% increase on the previous year. Average selling prices were £365,000, also up 4%, while operating profit was down 0.3% at £210 million. Pre-tax profit for the period was down 13.6% at £200 million, while net cash amounted to £174 million. Although…

Somewhat predictably, losses have continued into 2026 for investment trust Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT). The company’s latest factsheet shows it posted a 5.6% drop in NAV and a 5.7% share price drop in January. That compares with a 3.1% gain for the month for the FTSE All Share index, the trust’s benchmark. The trust also got off to a poor start to February, losing over 6% on the first day of the month. Share price: 735.3pDiscount to NAV: -10.4%NAV/Share: 820.4pNet yield: 2.5% AI headwinds The top three detractors from the company’s performance in January were Experian (EXPN), RELX (REL)…

Shares in Bellway (BWY) rose 3% to £26.26 after the housebuilder said there were ‘clear signs’ of improving H1 demand. The positive sentiment helped lift shares in rival Barratt Redrow (BTRW), which reports earnings tomorrow. Share price: £26.26 (+3.2%)PE: 13.8x Market cap: £3bn Yield: 3% Reservations rising In a trading update covering the six months to the end of January, Bellway sounded upbeat about its performance. Total completions rose 3% to 4,702 homes, while average selling prices rose 4% to £322,000. The weekly private reservation rate, a closely watched indicator, rose slightly to 0.46 units excluding bulk sales. The forward…

Shares in Barclays (BARC) gained 2% to 497p after the bank promised to return more than £15 billion in capital. Positive Q4 and FY results and an improved FY26 outlook also helped lift the stock out of its recent ‘fug’. Share price: 497p (+2%)PE: 11.4xMarket cap: £67.1bnYield: 1.9% Big returns in prospect For the fourth quarter, Barclays reported income of £7.1 billion, up 2% on the previous year. Its investment bank, which is the largest non-US player, posted income of $2.79 billion, beating market forecasts of $2.74 billion. For FY25, the bank reported income of £29.1 billion, an increase of…

Oil giant BP (BP.A) has announced it is suspending share buybacks to preserve cash and protect its balance sheet. The company broke the news with its Q4 results which showed cash flow marginally ahead of estimates. Share price: 457.7p (-4.2%)PE: 14.3xMarket cap: £73.4bnYield: 5.0% Goodbye to buybacks BP said the decision to suspend buybacks was to ‘accelerate’ strengthening of its balance sheet. It added: ‘This creates a strong platform to invest with discipline into our distinctive deep hopper of oil and gas opportunities.’ In November 2025, the company announced a $750 million buyback alongside its Q3 results. In total, BP…

The Dow Jones Industrials Average, the US’s second-oldest stock market index, made history last week topping 50,000 for the first time. The index is made up of 30 stocks, mostly in the financial, consumer and industrial sectors. ‘Old Economy’ The Dow is something of an oddity as far as most investors are concerned. Instead of whizzy tech stocks, it is heavily weighted to large-cap household names which are often considered ‘old economy’. First calculated in 1896, the Dow Industrials is the second-oldest US index after the Dow Transports. The index is owned and maintained today by S&P Dow Jones Indices,…

Shares in Plus500 (PLUS) hit a new all-time high after the spread betting platform issued a positive FY26 outlook. Thanks to strong FY25 trading and recent strategic deals, the board sees FY26 earnings above market expectations. Share price: £47.73 (+5.7%)PE: 16.6x Market cap: £3.3bnYield: 2.1% ‘Accelerated progress’ Reflecting on overall trading, 2025 marked ‘a year of accelerated strategic progress for Plus500’, said CEO David Zruia. ‘We successfully scaled our non-OTC business into a key growth driver and continued to deliver a strong financial performance.’ Revenue for the year rose 3% to $792 million while EBITDA rose 2% to $348 million,…

Retail bank NatWest (NWG) has announced a deal to buy wealth management firm Evelyn Partners from its private equity owners. Alongside the ‘transformative’ deal, it will buy back another £750 million worth of shares. Share price: 628p (-4.8%)PE: 10.2xMarket Cap: £52bnYield:4.9% A ‘compelling’ deal NatWest is paying £2.7 billion for Evelyn Partners, which oversees £69 billion of assets and owns the D2C platform BestInvest. NatWest’s own PBWM (private banking and wealth management) business oversees £59 billion of assets. By combining Evelyn Partners with its existing business, NatWest will become a major player in the UK market. Going forward, PBWM will…

The latest Halifax house price index showed a small uptick in average home prices in January. Notably, the average selling price topped the £300,000 level for the first time. ‘STEADY FOOTING’ Average UK house prices rose by 0.7% in January compared with December and 1% compared with the previous year. The average price touched £300,077, a new milestone for the survey. ‘The housing market entered 2026 on a steady footing’, commented Halifax head of mortgages Amanda Bryden. However, while activity levels showed a resilient market, ‘affordability remains a challenge for many would-be buyers’ added Bryden. The building society sees house…

Specialty chemicals group Victrex (VCT) maintained its FY26 financial guidance despite a drop in Q1 sales. The firm makes high-performance polymers for customers in the automotive, aerospace, healthcare, industrial and energy sectors. Share price: 654p (-6%)PE: 16.4xMarket cap: £565mYield: 8.5% SLOW START TO FY26 For the quarter to December, the firm reported a 4% drop in volumes and a 2% drop in selling prices. That resulted in a 6% drop in revenue to £858 million from £898 million the previous year. The firm said volume growth in energy and industrial markets was offset by ‘more subdued’ demand from transport and…