THE TIPSTER
Mitchells & Butlers has lost ground this month despite last week reporting it is paying around £20m for 22 Ha Ha Bar & Grill restaurants. Can today’s trading update, which analysts expect to provide positive news, help lift the stock back up above the 300p level? ShortsandLongs.com has a rolling spread of 294.5p-296.1p.
The afterglow from the release of the Basel III?banking regulations didn’t last long. UK bank stocks under-performed after the business secretary bashed bankers at the Liberal Democrat annual party conference. Lloyds has proved volatile, spiking up to over £78.50 on Tuesday before dropping back down to the £76 level. Meanwhile, Barclays’ share price has proved particularly sluggish, but the £3 mark has proved good support in the past and we could head higher from here. Capital CFDs quotes a price of 309.0p-309.6p.
Precious metals are on a roll as traders fret over the prospect of further currency devaluations. Gold has been particularly strong recently, hitting another record high this week. After the Fed announced further quantitative easing on Tuesday, we could see the price continue to rise. IG Index’s spread is $1291.1-$1291.4.
Silver is rumoured to be well on its way to catching up with gold. Capital Spreads quotes a price of $21.09-$21.12 for the silver December contract.
And Copper is also experiencing a boost, pushing a three-month high and looks set to break higher. CMC Markets’ spread is $355.60 -$356.00.
With commodity fever gripping the markets and precious metals rallying higher, miners were back in favour. Stocks such as Xstrata had a good day yesterday and could continue their recent good form. The sector should prove fruitful for long trades. Capital CFDs has a price of 1200.4p-1202.1p for Xstrata’s share price.