Posts from — January 2010

Financial Market Comments from David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, IG Index.

In mid-morning trading UK markets are modestly higher.

After Thursday’s big plunge to the lowest levels in two months, it is not surprising to see a rally for the FTSE this morning, however it’s is nothing to write home about.

In fact, considering UK Consumer Confidence data has shown a rise for the first time in three months, the small gains by the markets demonstrate how fragile sentiment is.

Investors are marking time ahead of this afternoon’s major US releases with fourth-quarter GDP and Chicago PMI data the highlights.

There is no hiding the fact that stock markets still remain vulnerable to further weakness and unless this afternoon’s data is better-than-expected the major indices could be set for a lacklustre finish to this week.

Ahead of the US open we are currently expecting the Dow Jones to start broadly unchanged from Thursday’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 Tim Hughes, Head of Sales Trading, IG Index.

In mid-morning trading, the FTSE is up around 40 points, or 0.8%.

The leader board is awash with green this morning; only a smattering of stocks are down on the day as the UK market reverses a six-day losing streak.

A range of factors are continuing to boost optimism and risk appetite among investors, and an irresistible combination of buoyancy for banks and strength across the mining sector is helping maintain the influx of day traders looking to buy UK equities.

Investors on both sides of the Atlantic will have welcomed the Fed’s decision to keep rates at zero to 0.25%. This is a move which appears to have countered recent fears that China is gradually moving in the opposite direction by tightening its purse strings.

Neither can the Obama-factor be discounted in fuelling this recent bout of optimism. The President’s vow to focus political attention on the domestic labour market may have provided a small boost for equities.

However, the real market-shifter was the gentler tone he took with the banks in the State of the Union address, a move which has seen investors flood back to the sector today.

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 Tim Hughes, Head of Sales Trading, IG Index.

At mid-morning a woozy FTSE is struggling to rouse itself, around 50 points down.

Energy, banks and miners are among the poorest performing, with Tullow Oil, Barclays and Xstrata all really struggling against the tide.

Indeed, press and public reaction to the sight of the UK finally, wheezily crawling out of recession has been underwhelming to say the least.

With Gordon Brown’s continued absence from Downing Street, as he oversees the government power-sharing talks in Northern Ireland, what might have been described on Monday by his closest aides as a potential opportunity missed will now be seen as a blessing.

Others might say his last hope has been cruelly extinguished. Investors won’t be too keen to dwell on this, though, considering events to come.

Apple is due to release its latest new product today, and later there’s an exciting double act from the other side of pond.

If the US Federal Reserve’s latest announcement, expected to be ‘no change in interest rates’, serves as a low-key opener, then there’s no doubt that the audience will be shifting nervously in their seats as the main act takes to the stage.

President Barack Obama is under scrutiny from all sides at the moment, and his State of the Union address really is the hot ticket tonight, not just stateside but globally.

More tough, yet ambiguous, rhetoric on the subject of bank regulation could see the hangover for investors continue at least another day yet. A firm but reassuring tone, however, could see the markets bounce back.

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.

In mid-morning trading, shares in the UK are broadly lower with the latest GDP release having had little impact.

A lacklustre finish by US markets on Monday meant a sluggish start for shares in the UK this morning ahead of fourth-quarter GDP data.

When released, the data showed the UK had finally moved out of recession – but growth of 0.1% in the last three months of 2009 was below market expectations.

In addition, the artificial boost of the government’s car scrappage scheme played a significant part in the growth. Therefore, the fact that the UK barely managed to scrape into the positive on the back of this hardly shows a particularly robust recovery.

The stock market decline over the past couple of weeks has pulled the FTSE 100 index back from 5600 to the lows seen in December.

These levels, around 5170, are seen as key ones to watch by traders in the next few days. So far there have been some signs of stabilisation and some analysts hoping this will lead to a recovery.

Looking ahead to the US open we are expecting the Dow Jones to start off around 50 points weaker, which would put it at its worst level since the end of November last year.

Consumer confidence data is the big release due out of the US this afternoon, although this has been a difficult one to call in recent months so we could see some volatility throughout the session.

As of last night’s finish, US markets remained under pressure but many are hoping that the 10,000 level will prove to be some sort of psychological floor for the index and stop this slide.

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.

In mid-morning trading UK shares are a little firmer, with the FTSE 100 holding above 5300.

It has ended up being a much better start than was initially feared for shares in London, with blue chips showing some strength right from the open.

Banking stocks such as RBS and Barclays have helped buoy the market as some investors have taken the view that the sell-off at the end of last week was overdone.

With the latest UK GDP data set to be released tomorrow, some investors may be happy to stay sidelined and wait to see if this finally confirms the UK is out of recession.

Looking ahead to the US open, after Friday’s 200 point sell-off the Dow Jones looks set for a strong bounce back today, reclaiming a chunk of those losses.

At the moment we are expecting the Dow to start off around 120 points higher once trading officially gets under way.

With little of any note on the economic calendar, the gyrations in the banking sector still have the potential to add some volatility heading into the afternoon.

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.