Posts from — May 2009

Financial Market Comments from Philip Gillet, Sales Trader, IG Index.

At mid morning in London it is another positive start for UK stocks.

In mid-morning trading the FTSE 100 is currently up on the day, trading steadily at the 4430-4400 level.

Miners were among those making early gains, with Randgold Resources up 4.69% and Eurasian Natural Resources up 4.07%.

At the other end of the spectrum British Airways continues to struggle following last week’s announcement of pre-tax losses and finds itself down 1.15%.

Oil exploration group Tullow Oil took a sharp fall, down 2.31%.

This past month we have experienced bullish attitudes in the market place, but an indication of whether this will continue into June will come from the fate of the beleaguered car manufacturer General Motors.

GM’s board will today convene to finalise the bankruptcy plans of the car manufacturer, hopefully securing its future.

However Fiat has announced that it will not be in attending today’s bidding for GM’s European operations in Berlin and nerves are understandably getting jittery.

With 5,500 Vauxhall workers in the UK, and many more in its continental operations, the failure of GM to find a suitable bidder, and the possibility of large-scale job losses, could well be a signal that the bullish attitudes experienced in May were only fleeting and that the markets are still in for stormy weather.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.

Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.

Content provided by IG Index which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register number 114059.

Financial Market Comments from Philip Gillet, Sales Trader, IG Index.

Coming into the early session the FTSE 100 is off 60 points and is trading around the 4360 mark.

There are very few stocks that are not red this morning, but one of the positives was United Utilities who announced that profits are up 11%, though they have cut their dividend by 30%.

Despite calls that the worst is over, there are still some worrying signs: Europe’s economy is expected to contract 3.6% which could be seriously damaging for the UK which does over 60% of trade with her.

Adding to the gloom, David Blanchflower, who is stepping down from rate setting at the MPC this week, says he thinks the UK could see a further one million unemployed, and that it is still too early to rule out a depression.

The general mood appears to be darkening again with people realising that a calm after a storm doesn’t mean the storm has passed.

Looking to this afternoon, figures for Durable goods in the US are out, with expectations high for signs of a recovery.

At the moment, the markets seem more reluctant to hold onto their gains as they have done in previous weeks, perhaps indicating the tide is beginning to turn.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.

Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.

Content provided by IG Index which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register number 114059.

Financial Market Comments from Philip Gillet, Sales Trader, IG Index.

In mid-morning trading the FTSE 100 has held onto gains made following yesterday’s release of positive US consumer confidence data and is trading in the 4420-40 range.

The market has been trading in the 4300-4500 range for over a couple of weeks now, and opinion seems mixed as to which way it will go.

The Bulls do have a case that the World economy is turning around, with yesterday’s consumer confidence data suggesting the World’s no. 1 consumers are back in the shopping mall. Also, the Baltic Dry Index is up for the 17th day in a row as China begins to stockpile resources. And Bloomberg is suggesting that Hedge funds are beginning to bet on a resurgence in commodity prices.

All good news for the World economy.

Yet with the increasingly positive vibe, the market seems to have reached its equilibrium. Investors will be eyeing up this afternoon’s US housing data as they look for further signs of stability in the US property market.

Though given the ambiguous nature of US housing data of late, anything less than positive news could upset the party.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.

Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.

Content provided by IG Index which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register number 114059.

Financial Market Comments from Anthony Grech, Market Strategist, IG Index.

At mid-morning in London it has been a lacklustre start to the week.

In early trading the FTSE 100 is off by around 30 points with broad-based weakness across most sectors. Bucking the trend so far are the supermarkets with Sainsburys, Tesco and Morrisons all slightly ahead, while most of the FTSE constituents are under pressure.

Tesco in particular still remains in favour with investors, and today seems to be a continuing of the recovery that started back in November. At the moment this all still seems to be intact with some hoping for a push back to the highs for the year, just shy of 380p.

Back to the wider market, although the FTSE 100 is down for the day it is all part of the lack of direction that emerged towards the end of last week.

On the downside the market is underpinned by the 4300 level and there are still buyers emerging on any weakness back to here.

Looking ahead to the US, at the moment we expect the Dow to open around 20 points lower than Friday’s close and US blue chips are stuck in a similar directionless phase.

The US session does see the release of May Consumer Confidence figures, with the expectation for a reading of 42%. This may well prove to be the catalyst that injects some life into the market, so after a sluggish start to the week there is the prospect of some increased volatility later in the session.

Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.

Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.

Content provided by IG Index which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register number 114059.

According to Dave Evans of fixed-odds firm, BetOnMarkets, “The FTSE Futures market currently indicate a weak open, as traders concerns that companies will continue to announce worse then expected earnings reports.

“Adding to the sell off is last weeks UK GDP numbers which showed the economy contracting by almost 2%. The FTSE 100 is likely to start the week in the red.

“Crude Oil prices continue to push hire, as traders are betting that more people will drive to their vacation spots rather then fly.

“Some analysts are worried that this is a very risky bet, as there is a strong chance that the demand for oil will not materialize as expected.

“Predicted opens as of 06:00 GMT

FTSE: 4322.1 (-30.9)
CAC 40 3211.00 (-17.80)
DAX 30 4896.6 (-19.2)
DOW: 8270 (-5)
S&P 500 885.53 (-0.50)
Gold: 954.70 (-2.80)
Oil: 61.33 (-0.33)”
Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.