Category — Financial Outlook

Financial Comments from Simon Denham, Capital Spreads.

The potential huge cost of any agreement at Copenhagen has been seen off as self interest (naturally). That came to the fore…at the end. In reality the chances of the West cutting back to the emission levels suggested was quite limited – no matter what our politicians agree to.

Any signature would have possibly sent us into a thirty year industrial decline. The idea that the emerging nations would serve their citizens so badly as to restrict economic growth to such an extent by agreeing to the limitations was always fanciful.

For all of the woes waiting to happen due to climate change it is unlikely that economic straitjackets will ever achieve more than lip-service.

On the other hand the news of a lunatic trying to blow up an Amsterdam/Detroit flight might have sent the markets sharply lower as paranoia spreads once more across the globe. For once, traders seem to have held steady.

This might be the best indicator for immediate directional impetus. The failure of the sellers of US Index Futures on Sunday night/early Monday morning to get any traction at all was illuminating.

For more also see today’s Spread Trading News

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 Capital Spreads which is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register number 182110.

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

In early trading, the FTSE is around 20 points higher, with retailers in focus.

A trading statement from supermarkets business Morrison has propelled the food retailer to the top of the leaderboard this morning, up around 8%.

The company has said that a solid start to the year has continued into the second quarter and it expects full year results to be ahead of expectations.

The strong open by the shares has shaken off a decidedly lacklustre few months of performance, and puts the price back to levels last seen in February.

There are also some early signs that traders are happy to bank windfall profits at these levels, and wait to see if the FTSE manages to break the 4500 barrier, before considering any more significant upside for Morrison.

Last night’s gains in the US have ensured another solid start to trading this morning in the UK.

The FTSE 100 is now within 50 points of the best levels achieved in the bounce back from the March lows.

If the current rally is going to run out of steam anywhere then this is as good a place as any, but so far the buyers still have the upper hand.

US indices are in similar positions so the next couple of day’s performance should play a big part in market sentiment for the rest of the summer.

If we see the FTSE 100 decisively break through the 4500 mark it sets up the year’s highs at 4700 as the next target.

Looking ahead to the US open, at the moment we are expecting little change for the Dow Jones Index at the moment.

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, it has been a strong start to the week, with the FTSE 100 up by around 60 points so far.

UK stocks continue their rally from the two-month low seen a week ago and have got back to levels last seen in mid-June.

Once again it is the miners and financials dictating the direction of the market – Lloyds Banking Group is the top gainer ahead of results later this week.

There has been something of a resurgence of interest by traders in the banks after a quiet couple of months and market reaction to these Lloyds figures could well set the tone for the direction of UK shares for the next couple of weeks.

Today’s strength sees the FTSE well above the 4400 mark and approaching an area that has been a real problem since early May.

Successive rallies to the 4500 zone ran out of steam on four separate occasions recently – so the next couple of days will be a real test for the latest spurt in positive sentiment.

Many traders would see a decisive break through 4500 as the sign of renewed optimism for stock markets, after a nervous few weeks, and would leave them targeting the year’s highs at 4700 next.

Ahead of the US open, we are expecting the Dow Jones to open up around 50 points higher 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 Philip Gillet, Sales Trader, IG Index.

In mid-morning trading, the FTSE 100 is slightly down on the day.

Bank and Oil sectors are up but are counterbalanced by a drop in the miners. Currently we are in a data driven market and with the lack of figures out in the UK today trading is light.

It was a fantastic start for to the week for equity markets: on close of business Friday, the FTSE 100 looked like it was going to continue its downward trend that had been taking shape since the start of the month, and was starting to test the 4000 level.

However we are now up nearly 240 points from this months low, a rise of 6%. The market has suddenly seen more positive signals as we enter the US earnings season.

So far results are better-than-expected and the results of Goldman Sachs exceeded all expectations. Last night, spurred on by improved industrial production data, the Dow Jones gained 3%.

We have some more big guns reporting today in the US, with JP Morgan Chase at 1.30pm (BST) followed by IBM and Google.

It will be interesting to see if JP Morgan can follow the lead of Goldman Sachs’ results or whether Goldman Sachs are just a class above.

US housing data also out at 1.30pm is expected to show a slight decline from the previous month, but any indications of a turnaround could well lead to further positive market movements

Right now the market seems to have got over excited and is maybe ahead of itself, with minutes released from the FOMC indicating a belief that the economy is weak and vulnerable.

The US markets seem to have taken this sentiment to mean the continuation of low interest rates, ignoring the fact that the World’s largest economy is still viewed as fragile by its policy makers.

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.

After last night’s strong finish in the US, London stocks have got off to a positive start.

All eyes are on the earnings announcement from Goldman Sachs, as stock markets around the world have rallied on hopes that the banking sector is going to deliver the strongest profits since the credit crunch began.

Investors are hoping that the sharp bounce back seen over the last couple of days ends up being more sustainable than some we have been used to.

Closer to home, this morning’s CPI data for the UK dipped, as expected, below the Bank of England’s 2% target, showing the price had risen by 1.8% over the last year. This was widely forecast and market reaction has been negligible, with the focus firmly back on corporate news.

Better than expected news out of the US earnings season could help bolster confidence for a wider recovery, something economic news has failed to do over recent weeks.

The nagging worry is that the latest rally this week could be setting markets up for a disappointment and investors are hoping that it doesn’t turn into “buy the rumour, sell the news”.

Looking ahead to the US open, overnight futures are still positive and at the moment we are expecting the Dow Jones to open around 10 points higher from Monday’s close.

Retail Sales for June are due out an hour ahead of the open, as are the announcements from Goldman’s and Johnson and Johnson.

By the end of trading in London today, traders are expecting to have a much better idea as to whether in the short-term at least we have seen the worst of the slide for stock markets.

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.