Posts from — March 2010

Financial Market Comments from Tim Hughes, Head of Sales Trading, IG Index.

The FTSE 100 opened positively this morning, wavering around 20 points higher than last night’s close in mid-morning trading.

The markets have shown little excitement at yesterday’s upward revision to 0.4% of the UK’s fourth-quarter economic growth.

Investors seem more concerned about where they are in this quarter than where we were in the last one.

And as the markets start their gradual deceleration towards Easter, we are not expecting to see too much action for stock market indices or forex over the next couple of days.

The biggest upwards mover on the day so far is British Sky Broadcasting Group, up 16.50 points (2.84%).

This came after analysts played down a ruling by market regulator Ofcom that the broadcasting giant must make its sports channels available to competitors at lower wholesale prices.

Looking ahead to the US, the Dow Jones seems likely to start the day as indecisively as yesterday, with traders showing only mild interest in the day’s economic releases.

Latest monthly US employment change figures (13.15pm UK time), Chicago manufacturing figures (14.45pm UK time) and this week’s crude oil inventories (15.30pm UK time).

All of these have the potential to add a small amount of volatility to an otherwise bland trading landscape later in the day.

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 the FTSE 100 is slightly firmer in what has been a relatively quiet session so far.

The biggest mover on the day is AMEC, up 2% on news of its acquisition of environmental consultancy Entec.

On the face of it, this doesn’t look like that significant a purchase. It seems to be the resultant broker upgrade that has lifted the share price to the top of blue chip gainers.

The major economic news today has been the latest revision to the fourth quarter GDP data for the UK, bumped up to 0.4%.

However, in keeping with the somewhat disinterested air markets seem to have ahead of Easter, this has not caused any particular excitement for stocks or forex.

Looking ahead to the US, at the moment we are anticipating the Dow Jones will start off broadly unchanged from last night’s close. Traders are expected to focus on the latest consumer confidence data due out at 3.00pm (UK time).

This could all make for some fairly uneventful trading over the next few hours, but the medium-term positive bias for UK stocks still remains very much intact.

This is despite the fact that it’s looking as if there might not be much additional progress made this week.

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 early trading, the FTSE 100 has made a positive start to the week.

Strength in the mining sector has lifted the blue chip index early on, but trader focus is on Vodafone this morning, with the mobile telecoms company enjoying its biggest rise in weeks.

This is on the back of a report in the weekend press that it was in discussions with Verizon about the future of the two companies’ joint venture Verizon Wireless.

But this early surge for Vodafone is already starting to falter. With it being a fairly docile stock at the best of times, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see short-term traders desert it unless there is some more concrete news forthcoming.

Ahead of the US open, at the moment we are expecting the Dow Jones to start off around 50 points higher than Fridays close.

All eyes this week will be on the 11,000 level for the Dow and with volatility having picked up over the past week it would not be a surprise if this was hit in the next couple of days.

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.

Despite a faltering start, the FTSE is holding clear of the 5700 level as we move towards the weekend break.

With little in the way of fundamental data around this morning, attention has been focusing on the agreement for plans to bail out Greece should the need arise.

To a degree, this may be helping ensure that the European markets don’t see the same level of selling that was observed on Wall Street in the latter part of yesterday’s session.

However, with the FTSE trading at 21-month highs, questions still have to be asked as to just how much risk remains on the downside.

Certainly with next week culminating in the month and quarter end, plus the prospect of many markets being closed for the long weekend, the temptation to start booking some profits could start to lure many in.

Numbers out of the US this afternoon will be closely followed as traders look for some meaningful direction before the close.

The Dow Jones is currently eyeing a 40 point boost at the bell as it looks to recoup some of yesterday’s late session losses. Having said this, failure to impress with the personal consumption data could arguably lead to another bout of selling too.

Michigan consumer sentiment will also be closely watched and yesterday’s improved weekly jobless claims figures should be underlining the case that the recovery is still in full swing.

Again failure to impress here could be the trigger for further selling but across the Atlantic we’re currently looking at the Dow starting up 40 at 10,881 and the S&P 500 up 4 at 1170.

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 Gillett, Sales Trader, IG Index.

Positive post-Budget sentiment has sent London’s blue-chip index slightly higher in early trading today.

The FTSE 100 Index shrugged off the losses seen on US and Asian indices overnight and by 10.00am (London time) was up 0.26% to 5677, spurred on by strong showings from the retail sector.

Next topped the index after it reported a surge in pre-tax profits to £505.3m from £428.8m the previous year. This news gave a boost to Marks & Spencer as it added 5.7p to its price.

Thomas Cook has also been on the rise for the second day running on the back of an encouraging trading statement. Also, British Airways – despite its well-documented recent troubles – climbed 6p on speculation that a merger with Iberia might be announced today.

Miners weighed heavily on the index, with Eurasian Natural Resources, Vedanta Resources, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta all lurking around the bottom of the leader board.

The focus for the rest of the day is likely to be on the EU meeting in Brussels to see if a deal can finally be reached to help solve Greece’s ongoing debt problems, as well as the all-important US jobless data.

It’s possible that investors will adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ policy before making any significant moves.

If Germany’s Angela Merkel can be persuaded to fall into line with the rest of the EU leaders and agree to come to Greece’s aid sooner rather than later, this should alleviate concerns over eurozone economies and ease pressure on global indices.

Whether the German public will share in the upbeat mood is a different matter entirely.

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.