Posts from — April 2010

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

Mid-morning on the last trading day of the month and the FTSE is off to a solid start.

Expectations are clearly running high that the Greek bailout deal will be sealed in the near term and this is helping lift equities as we move towards the long weekend.

Financial stocks have been generally cheered by the prospect that these large amounts of sovereign debt they’re holding won’t go bad.

In addition, Barclays posted some solid results this morning, although admittedly a degree of profit taking is being seen here.

The big question going forward now is with London closed on Monday, will the temptation be to start taking money off the table in case any further panic selling appears in the near term?

GDP, Chicago PMI and Michigan sentiment data is all due for release from the US this afternoon, so again this could carry some weight ahead of the break.

However, it would seem that traders are once again happy to take their lead from earnings as opposed to becoming overly concerned about the prospect of a correction.

The fact the Greek tragedy has seemingly been averted is also helping energy companies as oil prices resume their upward trend.

With the Dow Jones eyeing an open back above the 12,000 level, at least for the time being, the month seems set to end on a positive note.

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.

After a volatile first hour of trading, the FTSE is up on the day by a razor-thin margin of just seven points.

So far we’ve seen gains fade away as bearish sentiment over Greece, Portugal and now Spain has shaved points off the UK equity market.

But while equities have got themselves in a lather over the fear of contagion spreading further still across European bourses, most of the damage to sentiment has been felt by the forex markets. The Euro has fallen to a 12-month low against the US Dollar.

Furthermore, the soothing ointment of low interest rates provided by the Fed has helped calm some of the tremors on bourses this morning.

Nevertheless, while markets have stopped haemorrhaging, we could yet be in for a hair-raising ride.

With corporate earnings helping keep markets on an even keel so far, if not always in the green, it would only take a couple of big-name players to announce weaker-than-expected performances and sentiment might take another turn for the worse.

The other patch of interest will, naturally, be the ongoing negotiations in Europe.

Whenever the major EU nations and the IMF seem willing to dole out bailout cash markets react well, but any hesitancy, or indeed the prospect of further candidates for default, could see a return to the red.

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.

The FTSE has continued its negative drift this morning, languishing around 50 points down on yesterday’s close by 9.30am.

Miner Randgold Resources has fared well after announcing its new Tongon mine will open in October, and positive quarterly results from Shell have also helped to stem the morning’s losses.

Banks are weighing heavily on the other end of the table, however, as global shares take a tumble after credit rating agency Standard and Poor downgraded Greek debt to ‘junk’ yesterday.

Eurozone plans to secure a bail-out for the Greek economy will continue later, with all eyes on the IMF arriving in Berlin to push forward a rescue deal with German MPs.

Germany wants to see further steps from Greece to reduce the budget deficit before it agrees to release its share of the rescue fund.

Standard & Poor has also cut Portugal’s credit rating by two notches to A-, amid concerns about its public finances.

Jittery investors are concerned that the instability in the markets could snowball into something much bigger, and are hoping that real progress in Greece today may help to melt the ice.

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 early trading blue chips in London are down from yesterday’s close, but Lloyds Banking Group is the big gainer on the day.

The share price of Lloyds is up to its best levels in 16 months as the company confirmed this morning that the business has turned a profit in the first quarter of this year.

It did not put a figure on the profit but was upbeat for the outlook for the rest of the year, which all represents a turnaround much sooner than was expected.

But this hasn’t been enough to lift sentiment for the wider market and some reasonable losses for the share price of the miners have pulled the FTSE down.

Looking ahead to the US, at the moment we are expecting the Dow Jones to start off slightly weaker for today’s open, down around 10 points from last night’s close.

Yesterday saw this index once again hit fresh recovery highs. As a result, the slightly downbeat start to the day in London so far just looks like a slight pause in recent positive sentiment rather than the beginnings of a rout for share prices.

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, blue chips in London have made a strong start to the week.

In the absence of any major corporate news, investors in the UK looked back to Friday’s finish in the US for inspiration.

This saw the Dow Jones push out to fresh recovery highs yet again so it is not too surprising this translated into a strong start for the FTSE 100.

Commodity shares played their part once more but also banking strength and an increased appetite for the shares of Wolseley, on the back of the recovery in the housing market, lifted the FTSE briefly to 5800 this morning.

Looking ahead to the US and once again it is going to be company earnings that drive sentiment as the latest results season continues.

Based on last week’s strength, there is no sign that the fresh injection of enthusiasm delivered by the latest set of earnings is wavering just yet.

Ahead of the open we are expecting the Dow Jones to start the week broadly unchanged at 11,200.

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.