Stock Market News Page 4

Shareholder payments have resulted in Facebook declaring a $157 million loss. The results are the first to be released by the social networking giant since it listed on the stock market in May. Expenses and costs for the three month to June rose to $1.93 billion, an increase of 295 per cent on a year earlier. If staff share schemes had...

Indian-based car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has closed its plant in Manesar after clashes last week left 85 people injured and one official dead. The violence and subsequent closure has seen shares in the joint operation between Suzuki Motor Corporation and Maruti tumble by five per cent. The firm’s chairman, RC Bhargava, said at the...

Miner BHP Billiton said that output of iron ore for the second three months of the year had increased by 15 per cent. Production for the year was 159 million tonnes which is a record for the firm. The second quarter growth comes even though there are concerns that China’s demand continues to weaken. The company previously said that it was...

JPMorgan Chase has extended its estimated recent trading losses to $5.8 billion. However, the company’s shares rose on news that last quarter profits hit a better than expected $4.96 billion. Friday’s trading in New York saw the firm’s share price rise by 5.8 per cent. Originally JPMorgan said that its losses were estimated to be $2...

A decision by the central bank of South Korea to slash interest rates has resulted in a share price drop across Asia. The shares index of the South Korea Kopsi fell by 2.2 per cent as interest rates were reduced from 3.25 per cent to 3 per cent. The decision has caused analysts to suspect that the economic situation in the country has...

Alcoa, the American aluminium producer, has posted a second-quarter loss of $2 million. The announcement comes as the price of aluminium drops to its lowest level in two years. The price of the metal is currently 18 per cent lower than it was last year which has caused Alcoa to see a loss compared to a $322 million profit in the same quarter...

Unimpressive jobs data in the US has caused shares to slip. Figures for June showed that 80,000 new jobs had been created which was 20,000 short of the figure required by the Federal Reserve to announce that the job market is stable. The Dow Jones fell 1 per cent on the report. Although President Barack Obama said the jobs figures were...

Stock prices in the EU have declined as investor attention turns towards a meeting of the European Central Bank. Shares in energy firms have seen a decline as oil prices retreat from Tuesday’s five-week high. In London, Tullow Oil lost 1.9 per cent and Statoil, the Norwegian gas and oil group, shed 1.6 per cent. The banks have also seen...

Shares at Barclays seem to have steadied following the announcement that Bob Diamond, the bank’s chief executive, is stepping down. According to analysts his resignation will help to take some of the heat currently focused on Barclays because of the libor-fixing scandal away. In a statement Mr Diamond said he had taken the decision to...

Better than expected manufacturing figures between China and the UK and Europe have helped to push stocks in the UK to and eight week high. An announcement that it may be about to sell off various divisions saw insurer Aviva Plc shares gain 3.7 per cent. Barclays Plc saw shares jump by 3.4 per cent following the resignation of Chairman...