Posts from — July 2012

In mid-morning trading, the FTSE 100 is down 8 points, as caution creeps in ahead of key central bank meetings this week.

The month is looking likely to end on a quiet note, as spread betting investors enter ‘wait and see’ mode in advance of policy decisions from the Fed, the Bank of England and the ECB.

As the important events get closer, the sunny optimism that suggested policymakers would unveil impressive new measures has been replaced by nagging uncertainty.

Thus far no hints have been dropped as to possible courses of action, leaving markets wondering if Mario Draghi et al. can live up to their impressive rhetoric.

Disappointment in the wake of the meetings could be severe if measures are not announced, or if those outlined are not deemed to be sufficiently impressive.

In corporate news, the BP shares spread betting market is suffering the effect of lower oil and gas prices, and a drop in production occasioned by enhanced safety and maintenance programmes.

The steady grind of economic data continues, with the US Case-Shiller home price index, Chicago PMI and consumer confidence out this afternoon, and US markets are expected to open slightly higher, after yesterday’s lacklustre 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.

Financial Market Comments from Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst, IG Index.

The above comments do not constitute investment advice and 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.

In mid-morning trading, the FTSE is modestly higher, up around 15 points, as the week opens on a relatively quiet note.

With the games of the thirtieth Olympiad now in full swing in London, an odd stillness appears to have descended on financial spread betting markets.

Some might be forgiven for thinking that the weekend’s warm comments about saving the euro, which came this time from Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy’s prime minister Mario Monti, would cause another burst of optimism.

However, the reaction this morning has been far more muted than the rapid gains seen after ECB President Mario Draghi’s speech last week.

It seems you can only declare your intention to save the euro so many times before the excitement wears off. Spread betting markets are now awaiting firm action to back up the impressive words.

With the ECB meeting this week, and the Fed and Bank of England also having their regular get-togethers, there is plenty of scope for central bank-inspired excitement.

Away from the Eurozone, HSBC reported first-half figures this morning, with profit dropping slightly and the bank forced to set aside a hefty sum of $2 billion to deal with regulatory issues in the US and UK.

Today’s economic calendar is fairly light, helping us to ease slowly into a week of central bank meetings that culminates in non-farm payrolls in the US on Friday.

Ahead of the open, the S&P 500 is expected to start the day 6 points lower at 1376.

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.

Financial Market Comments from Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst, IG Index.

The above comments do not constitute investment advice and 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.

In mid-morning trade, the FTSE is a little weaker on the day after Thursday’s strong rally.

After yesterday’s Mario Draghi-inspired speech put a rocket under all sorts of risk assets, today is seeing the familiar pattern of wondering whether everyone got a little carried away with promises of doing anything to defend the euro.

There have been lots of occasions over the last couple of years where the initial euphoria following an upbeat speech has given markets hope – only to see this dashed as the actions prove to be a little bit harder to put in place.

Adding to the reflective mood this morning is the upcoming US GDP data due out ahead of the Wall Street open.

With some of the disappointing numbers seen recently, any weakness here may well encourage online spread betting investors to take some risk-off the table ahead of the weekend.

Ahead of that US data release, at the moment the Dow Jones spread betting index is expected to be broadly unchanged from last night’s close at 12,888, although this will no doubt change once the GDP number is known.

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.

Financial Market Comments from Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst, IG Index.

The above comments do not constitute investment advice and 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.

In mid-morning trading, the FTSE is once again fairly quiet, down 10 points despite the slew of earnings coming through today.

A barrage of updates from UK companies is keeping spread betting investors fully occupied today, wading through news both good and bad.

Among those doing well are Intertek, Travis Perkins and Compass, but Shell is suffering the effects of a fall in the oil price, and this is causing the FTSE to languish in negative territory.

5500 remains something of a barrier for now, the index having bounced around here for all of yesterday’s session.

Also in corporate news, engineering firm, Lamprell, has served up yet another profit warning, its third in as many months, taking its shares to 77p, a drop of 80% from the highs for the year.

Still, at least all those reports have kept our minds off the Eurozone. Although Spanish bond yields have eased slightly, the fact that the ten-year yield seems to have taken up permanent residence above 7% should be a cause for concern.

On the economic front, we have US durable goods and jobless claims, with the S&P 500 starting the session 5 points lower at 1330.

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.

Financial Market Comments from Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst, IG Index.

The above comments do not constitute investment advice and 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.

The lack of movement on the FTSE this morning, with the index barely in positive territory, belies the growing storm clouds threatening financial markets.

The list of woes for the global economy seems to get longer by the day, meaning that optimists are struggling to find any reason to stay upbeat.

The steady deterioration in Spain’s financial position continues, as bond yields climb ever higher.

Any debate about a bailout for Spain inevitably ends with a mention of Italy as the next domino, but there still isn’t enough money in the pot to rescue both of them.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, tech giant Apple failed to match its usual form, announcing a rare earnings miss last night that provoked a brief flurry of panic among spread betting investors.

However, the prospect of a new shiny iPhone later in the year reassured financial spread trading markets that all would be well in the end.

Finally, UK GDP data provided a particularly nasty surprise this morning, showing that the British economy contracted by 0.7% between the first and second quarters, with a year-on-year drop of 0.8%.

The sharp drop will cause much angst in Whitehall, but with the Eurozone struggling and the US and China also slowing, the UK was never going to be able to escape unscathed.

Looking to the US, we expect the S&P 500 to start down 3 points at 1334.

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.

Financial Market Comments from Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst, IG Index.

The above comments do not constitute investment advice and 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.