International Power leading the way for defensive stocks August 11, 2009 THE LARGE cap index shed 1.1 per cent yesterday, knocked by weakness in heavyweight banks, miners, and oils, but defensive stocks were back in favour once again. The FTSE 100 was 50.86 points lower at 4,671.34 by the close of the session, weakening for a second day after hitting a 10-month closing high of 4,731.56 [...]
US shares slide on bank sector fears August 11, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday after a prominent banking analyst warned the sector’s fundamentals have yet to improve, and an unexpectedly large drop in wholesale inventories raised worries about an economic recovery. Financial stocks, which had gained about 25 per cent in the last month, tumbled after Rochdale Securities analyst Richard Bove painted a gloomy outlook [...]
Rally ends as weak miners nudge FTSE down slightly August 10, 2009 THE FTSE 100 edged down yesterday, with investors booking profits from hefty gains in miners and banks last week, while the market searched for direction as the earnings season tailed off. The index ended down 0.2 per cent, or 9.36 points at 4,722.20, not far from a 10-month closing high of 4,731.56 on Friday. A [...]
Airlines still soaring despite bad news and cost-cutting August 10, 2009 ON THE face of it, 2009 was never going to be a good year for airlines. The cost of oil – the main source of fuel for aeroplanes – has been steadily rising since February and is now nearing $75 per barrel. The recession meant that people were more inclined to stay at home rather [...]
CITI HARD TO BEAT FOR A BRAVE PUNT August 10, 2009 MARTIN SLANEYHEAD OF DERIVATIVES, GFT ONE of the most popular CFD stocks right now is Citigroup, but perhaps what is surprising is the direction of trades – everyone is buying. But what is attracting people to a bank, which was fighting for its very survival earlier this year? It is certainly an impressive turnaround in [...]
Profit-taking sends US indices lower August 10, 2009 US STOCKS fell yesterday as investors booked profits following a four-week rally that took the broad S&P 500 index to a 10-month high on Friday. The drop comes ahead of an abundance of economic data due this week, including the Federal Reserve’s statement on interest rates and the economy, as well as government figures for [...]
Bank inflation report due as City heads for holiday season August 9, 2009 With the streets of the City emptying as weary workers head for sunnier climes, the torrent of company results slows to a trickle this week, but the markets will be scrutinising the Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report. The Bank, which releases its report on Wednesday, is expected to predict that inflation will stay low [...]
THE TIPSTER RESULTS AND BUYOUTS TO FUEL MARKET August 9, 2009 Interim results are still dominating the headlines and the markets at the moment so spread betters should be well aware of which companies are reporting and what the market is expecting from them. Insurance company Friends Provident reports interims on Tuesday and investors will be hoping for an update on the Resolution situation. For investors [...]
Markets turn focus to economic data as recession eases August 9, 2009 We’re likely to see a switch in the market’s focus from earnings back to economic reports this week. The Bank of England’s quarterly inflation report is arguably the highlight of the week, certainly for UK shares and the pound, with the market keen to interpret for itself the evidence which was sufficiently weak to persuade [...]
Forecast the rally’s top with chart patterns August 9, 2009 IT HAS been all too easy to get caught up in the wave of enthusiastic stock market rallies over the past few weeks. At some point – and probably in the near future – indices will either look to retrace some of their gains or consolidate. Spread betters should therefore be looking to lock in [...]