Closing comments from Will Hedden, Sales Trader, IG Index:
Coming to the end of what has been an incredibly long week, major equity markets look much healthier.
Driving sentiment this afternoon has been the news of a ceasefire in Libya, as investors once again buy into equities.
US shares markets have seen their strongest two-day rise since December, while Brent crude fell more $3 in a matter of minutes, before pulling things back to remain unchanged.
News of a ceasefire is certainly welcome but whether this is more than just words remains to be seen.
Closer to home, the FTSE is looking to close the week around 100 points lower than where it began on Monday.
This is a much better position than could have been expected just two days ago, when markets were in a state of pandemonium as geo-political news drove sentiment.
The Sunday papers will almost certainly be sifted through thoroughly, as investors look to see beyond the headlines in the search of a bargain.
This aside, the hazardous volatility looks like it will remain a feature of daily market-life for some time.
The above comments do not constitute investment advice and neither IG Index nor Clean Financial accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of them.
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UK Market Comment, 17 March 2011
Closing comments from David Jones, Chief Market Strategist, IG Index:
Heading into the close, it looks like it could be a triple-digit gain for the FTSE 100.
With only a handful of FTSE shares finishing down for the day and chunky gains at the other extreme of the table, it looks like a strong close for the UK market.
The London shares market has managed to avoid the massive volatility seen last night and in the early hours of this morning, spending virtually all of today’s session in recovery mode.
Some of the hardest hit in recent days, such as the mining stocks, have been the leaders today, as investors decided there were bargains to be had.
The weakness in recent days had pushed the UK index back to levels hit during the Irish sovereign debt crisis, after that the market rallied by more than 10% over the subsequent months.
However, it would be too simplistic to expect the same result this time around.
Despite the strong rise seen today investors' nerves are still on edge, and markets remain almost completely news-driven by what is happening with the Japanese nuclear plants and Libyan unrest.
Until there is some form of resolution to both of these, it would be prudent to expect further bouts of volatility.
The above comments do not constitute investment advice and neither IG Index nor Clean Financial accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of them.
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'Libyan Ceasefire Buoys US Shares and Weakens Oil' edited by AG, updated 18-Mar-11
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