Trading Update
15-Jul-14, 9:22am: Equities finished higher yesterday as Citigroup results boosted the US, however, the gold market slumped towards its 200DMA at $1,285.



Update by Joe Quinn, Market Analyst,
15-Jul-14, 9:22am:

US Dollar Surges Ahead of Yellen’s Testimony to Congress



Markets are starting to expect the Fed to consider raising rates as the US economy improves, with Yellen’s upcoming speech in focus and the US dollar seeing strength.

GBP/USD is falling strongly, dropping below the 21 period moving average and targetting support at $1.7048, ahead of a wide range of UK data.



Update by Craig Inglis, Head of Product Development,
15-Jul-14, 1:26pm:

What to Look for in Bank Earnings



In this quick video, IG provides an overview of what to consider when banking stocks report their earnings.



Update by
16-Jul-14, 8:43am:

US Banking and Tech Stocks Boost Indices



With strong results from Citibank, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, as well as a deal between Apple and IBM, stocks have seen gains on hopes of an improving economic outlook.

Crude oil has recovered a little but some will ask why equities can continue to rally whilst crude oil continues in a bearish trend.



Update by Craig Inglis, Head of Product Development,
16-Jul-14, 10:14am: The euro/sterling market slumped to 2-year lows yesterday as UK inflation data beat expectations whilst German confidence figures declined.



Update by
16-Jul-14, 11:35am: The latest trading video on our blog takes a look at the divergence between struggling European markets and the all-time highs being recorded in the US.

Can US Stocks Keep Ignoring European Divergence?

Update by Gordon Childs, Editor,
16-Jul-14, 1:07pm:

How Will Sports Direct Expand Overseas?



The upcoming results from the sports firm are set to be fairly positive, so IG talks to Bryan Roberts from Kantar Retail to see what the company is doing to expand into new markets.



Update by
16-Jul-14, 1:56pm:

Will Chinese GDP Data Encourage a Rally in Copper?



With the copper market seeing some longer-term resistance, will the better-than-expected growth numbers from China help the red metal break through the downtrend?



Update by Jasper Lawler, Market Analyst,