Financial Spread Betting Blog » 2009

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

Coming up to the mid-morning period, the FTSE 100 is sitting around the 4220 level and trading in a 20-point range, but finding support above 4200.

Oil is pretty much flat, trading around $69, while gilt futures are up, trading around 117.90.

Sentiment has definitely become more timid. The question now is where equity markets go from here.

Less has been said of the ‘green shoots’ over the last couple of weeks, with investors beginning to realise that shoots need roots if they are to survive.

And with world regulators beginning to beef themselves up, there is now a real fear that they may hamper economic recovery as efforts are made to control the financial institutions perceived to have caused the meltdown.

We have entered a fairly benign trading period of late, which is likely to last throughout the summer.

The Fed looks set to keep rates low, especially as the US housing market is still falling.

Mortgage applications out at midday and home sales at 3pm (London time) will be closely watched by traders for an indication as to when and what the US central bank’s next move will be.

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 trade, UK stocks are a bit firmer after Monday’s sharp drop.

In early trading Thomson Reuters is at the top of blue chip gainers, up by around 5% so far, following its plans to cancel its listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Power business Drax Group is the biggest loser, down by around 3%, after an announcement that it is placing up to 25 million shares to raise cash to reduce its debt.

This has not helped the current sentiment towards the share price and today has seen Drax move to fresh lows, with some traders expecting a slide to 400p in the not too distant future.

Looking ahead to the US session, the major announcement is Existing Home Sales, due out at 3:00 UK time with expectation here of around 4.8 million – slightly up on the April figure.

Ahead of the official open, we are expecting the Dow Jones index to open slightly firmer, with overnight futures suggesting a 40 point bounce-back from last night’s close.

This was off by around 200 points at Monday close so sentiment still remains downbeat – the real test for the Dow over the coming days will be whether we see the buyers come back in ahead of the 8200 mark which propped the index up in the second half of May.

It would not be surprising to see further weakness in the days ahead, with some traders eyeing 4200 as the next potential target for the FSTE 100 which would put it back to levels not seen since the end of April.

Looking ahead to the US open, these nerves are affecting US futures and at the moment we are expecting the Dow to open down around 50 points lower than Friday’s close.

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 David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, IG Index.

At mid-morning in London, UK stocks are down for the day so far with the FTSE nudging 4300.

The week has got off to a negative start, with broad-based weakness hitting most sectors so far.

Anglo American is the top gainer for blue chips, on news of a tentative approach from sector stablemate Xstrata. The reaction so far by Anglo America has been described as “muted” and this has meant that the price, although still up by 6% on the day, has spent most of the morning edging back from the very sharp gains seen on the open.

With investors seeing proposed deals in the mining sector come to nothing over the past twelve months, some caution is not really surprising – and it reflects the broader mood of the market at the moment.

Stock markets are currently looking more vulnerable to weakness than they have done for some months.

Last week’s moves below what many viewed as strong support for global stock indices – eg 4300 for the FTSE – has not done investors’ confidence any favours.

The dip has also added to concerns that the recovery by shares off the lows for the year has got ahead of itself, while economies still look shaky.