Stock market news from ShareCast

Stock market reports

• Europe midday: Shares trim gains as Iran war worries persist; Bechtle slumps
  Fri 20 March 2026 11:34
  (Sharecast News) - European shares trimmed morning gains on Friday but were still set for their third weekly decline in a row as the US-Israel war on Iran escalated across the Gulf, sending oil and gas prices higher and increasing the prospect of interest
• London midday: FTSE pares gains as oil creeps up; Wetherspoons slide
  Fri 20 March 2026 10:57
  (Sharecast News) - London stocks had pared earlier gains by midday on Friday as oil prices crept higher, having fallen after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the war with Iran could end sooner than people think.
• Asia report: Stocks fall across region on oil price concerns
  Fri 20 March 2026 10:18
  (Sharecast News) - Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on Friday, tracking volatile trading on Wall Street overnight, as escalating tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to energy supply continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
• Europe open: Stoxx rallies but inflationary fears persist as Iran war rages on
  Fri 20 March 2026 08:14
  (Sharecast News) - European shares rallied slightly on Friday, but were still set for their third weekly decline as the US-Israel war on Iran escalated across the Gulf, sending oil and gas prices higher and increasing the prospect of interest rate hikes a
• London open: FTSE gains as oil prices ease; Wetherspoons tumbles
  Fri 20 March 2026 07:56
  (Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Friday as oil prices eased back, after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the war with Iran could end sooner than people think.

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Press round-up

• Wednesday newspaper round-up: UK inflation, net zero, Crispin Odey
  Wed 11 March 2026 07:25
  (Sharecast News) - UK inflation could end the year higher than previously expected at 3% because of the US-Israel war in Iran, the government's economics watchdog has said. David Miles, a senior figure at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said i
• Thursday newspaper round-up: 'Buy EU', BrewDog, Morgan Stanley
  Thu 05 March 2026 07:23
  (Sharecast News) - The European Commission has proposed a "Buy EU" plan to boost domestic low-carbon industries and help the continent compete against China. The commission published a draft regulation - called the Industrial Accelerator Act - on Wednesda

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Company news

• Triton and Bridgepoint abandon pursuit of Spire Healthcare
  Fri 20 March 2026 17:24
  (Sharecast News) - Spire Healthcare said on Friday that it remains in talks with other parties about a potential sale, after private equity firms Bridgepoint and Triton said they were not planning to make a takeover offer for the private hospital operator
• UBS approved for US banking licence
  Fri 20 March 2026 13:32
  (Sharecast News) - US regulators have approved UBS for a full banking licence, adding checking and savings account services to one of the Swiss bank's largest regions for wealth management.
• Supermicro co-founder charged with smuggling tech to China, shares plunge
  Fri 20 March 2026 12:53
  (Sharecast News) - Shares in server maker Super Micro Computer plunged on Friday after its co-founder was arrested for allegedly violating US export controls.
• Novartis snaps up Synnovation's breast-cancer treatment for up to $3bn
  Fri 20 March 2026 12:21
  (Sharecast News) - Swiss pharma giant Novartis is to pay up to $3bn to Synnovation Therapeutics to acquire a promising breast-cancer treatment that has shown to reduce the unwanted side effects of available medicines.
• FedEx reports strong earnings, raises full-year outlook
  Fri 20 March 2026 12:21
  (Sharecast News) - FedEx reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook on Friday, signalling resilience in global shipping demand despite geopolitical tensions and rising energy costs.

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Directors' dealings

• Broker tips: Close Brothers, Atalaya Mining
  Fri 20 March 2026 12:59
  (Sharecast News) - Shore Capital upgraded Close Brothers on Friday to 'buy' from 'hold' as it said a recent selloff on the back of a research note by Viceroy was overdone.
• Director dealings: Great Portland Estates new CFO snaps up shares
  Wed 18 March 2026 12:32
  (Sharecast News) - Great Portland Estates revealed on Wednesday that chief financial officer Jayne Cottam had acquired 32,330 ordinary shares in the FTSE 250-listed property developer.

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Sector review

• Sector movers: Santa Rally gets off to early start, analysts say
  Wed 11 December 2024 18:41
  (Sharecast News) - This year's Santa Rally appeared to get off to an early start according to some analysts in the City.
• Sector movers: Precious metals miners dip ahead of Fed decision
  Wed 18 September 2024 20:55
  (Sharecast News) - Stocks fell in the middle of the week with investors opting to sit on their hands ahead of the US central bank's interest rate decision scheduled for later.

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Aim and small cap news

AIM bulletins

• Arrow Exploration reports progress at Colombian assets
  Fri 20 March 2026 13:20
  (Sharecast News) - Arrow Exploration reported continued operational progress at its Colombian assets on Friday, alongside a decline in reserves and valuation in its 2025 year-end report, reflecting production, pricing assumptions and classification impact
• Ascent Resources enters binding licence deal with Neometals vehicle
  Fri 20 March 2026 13:01
  (Sharecast News) - Ascent Resources said on Friday that it has entered into a binding exclusive licence agreement with a Neometals-backed vehicle to advance the evaluation of lithium and potash potential from brines in its Paradox Basin acreage in Utah.
• Guardian Metal Resources prices upsized $60m US public offering
  Fri 20 March 2026 12:04
  (Sharecast News) - Guardian Metal Resources priced an upsized initial public offering in the United States on Friday, raising about $60m as it looked to expand its investor base and fund development of its tungsten assets in Nevada.
• Robinson completes sale of Walton Works surplus property
  Thu 19 March 2026 10:16
  (Sharecast News) - Robinson said on Thursday that it has completed the sale of part of its Walton Works surplus property, generating proceeds that would be used to reduce bank debt as the packaging group continued to monetise non-core assets.
• Amaroq delisting from TSX-V to take effect
  Thu 19 March 2026 10:05
  (Sharecast News) - Amaroq said on Thursday that its voluntary delisting from the TSX Venture Exchange would take effect at the close of trading on 19 March, as the Greenland-focused mining company continued to consolidate trading in its shares across othe

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Small cap bulletins

• Gulf Keystone ordered to temporarily shut-in production operations
  Mon 02 March 2026 08:26
  (Sharecast News) - Exploration and production firm Gulf Keystone said on Monday that it has temporarily shut-in production operations and taken measures to protect staff in light of the "developing regional security environment".
• S&U profits ahead of budget as Advantage and Aspen deliver growth
  Thu 11 December 2025 08:18
  (Sharecast News) - Motor and property finance lender S&U said on Thursday that trading momentum had continued into the third quarter, with group profit running ahead of budget and receivables climbing to around £491m, up from £447m a year earlier.

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