Category — Financial Outlook

In mid-morning trade, the FTSE 100 has moved back on to the front foot, up almost 80 points thanks to stronger Chinese data.

Bulls in the stock market have had a rather trying week so far, and they had looked to today’s economic figures from China to provide the necessary impetus to lift markets.

Their patience was well-rewarded; manufacturing figures from the Asian titan moved back into expansion territory, easing fears that the new workshop of the world was undergoing a slowdown.

This good start to the day was followed up by manufacturing data from Germany and the UK, both of which showed improvement for January.

ICAP was one of the big gainers this morning, up 8% as investors ignored the profit warning and focused on the prediction of increased activity for 2012.

Attention now shifts to the afternoon session, where the US will join in the manufacturing reporting with its own January figures.

Also up on the calendar is the ADP employment number for January, widely seen as the precursor to Friday’s Non Farm Payrolls figure.

Last month the ADP figure caught everyone out, smashing through expectations.

Today’s forecast is for a gain of 185,000, and this will need to be met if today’s rally is not to prove as short-lived as yesterday’s.

Facebook, the social networking giant, is expected to file its IPO documents today, which could provide a fillip to tech stocks.

US stock markets are expected to open substantially higher, with the Dow Jones forecast to start up 98 points.

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, FTSE 100 spreads have bounced back strongly and are trading near the highs of the day.

After yesterday’s gloomy performance that saw the index have its worst day in six weeks, the positive sentiment has returned today following a solid performance by US shares for most of yesterday’s session.

Apple supplier ARM Holdings is the biggest gainer so far after reporting a 37% jump in pre-tax profit.

The share price is trading just below 12 month highs and this has been quite a barrier to any progress.

As a result, some may end up treating today’s news as an opportunity to take some money off the table.

Looking ahead to the US open, pre-market trading suggests the Dow Jones is set to start around 70 points higher.

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 Rupert Osborne, Futures Dealer, 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, UK shares spread betting markets are under some pressure with the FTSE slipping below 5700.

With the little local difficulty of RBS bonus payments resolved for now, attention has moved back to the bigger picture and the all too familiar concerns of European debt.

The latest European summit is set to start later today and the market seems to be starting to tire of news that a Greek deal is very nearly almost done. As a result, it looks like investors are happy to stand aside for now and see if any progress is made in the coming days.

There are signs of some defensive positioning going on with the likes of GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone and AstraZeneca sitting near the top of the table, but this is doing little to counter the weakness in banking and financial stocks.

Looking ahead to the US open at the moment we are expecting the Dow to start around 60 points lower 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.

Financial Market Comments from David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, 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 there is little change for the FTSE 100.

Honours are evenly split between blue-chip winners and losers so far today, with retailer Next topping the table and BT Group the biggest faller.

US shares had a sedate session on Thursday and it feels as if traders are taking their lead from them this morning, pausing after the Fed-inspired rocket yesterday.

Clearly though, indices spread betting markets are still on a bullish footing and the move to six-month highs by the FTSE this week has got some eyeing up the 6000 level as the next obvious medium-term target. In fact this doesn’t seem too ambitious over the next couple of months.

Looking ahead to the US open, after a slight drop yesterday, the Dow looks set to claw back losses today with a +25 start expected.

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 David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, 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 bulls are firmly in command once more this morning, as the ‘Bernanke bounce’ sends the market up around 50 points in mid-morning trade.

The knowledge that the Fed has put policy changes on hold until the dim and distant future of 2014 has tempted investors to come out and play once again.

The FTSE has put on yet more gains following a strong performance on Wall Street last night after the Fed announcement and press conference.

Once again Uncle Ben has come to the rescue, and equities, commodities and riskier currencies are all up as traders take heart from the belief that the Fed stands ready to help out should things turn ugly.

In addition to this, mining firms are sailing ahead today, after Anglo American issued upbeat production numbers, and gains in excess of 3% are quite commonplace across the sector.

Star performer among the heavyweight miners is Vedanta Resources, up 6%.

Dow futures have turned positive as the morning has progressed, indicating that yet more gains by Wall Street will be the order of the day this afternoon, and the Dow is expected to start around 40 points higher.

There is plenty of American economic data to chew over today, including durable goods, jobless claims and new home sales.

If this data can keep showing improvement, then the bulls really will have the upper hand.

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.