THE TIPSTER CHRISTMAS HAS ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MARKETS
THE FTSE 100 smashed through 5,300 yesterday, rising 86 points to close at 5,382.67. For weeks the blue-chip index had been struggling to get through this resistance level but yesterday, it was firmly back on the upward trend. Has the traditional Santa rally started early? If so, the next target level would be the 5,500 area with even a possibility of 6,000 by the end of the year. ETX Capital is quoting 5,381.5-5,383.5 for its UK 100 Daily Rolling contract.
And it would appear that Christmas has also arrived early on the high street as well. WH Smith is on the verge of a technical breakout above both horizontal and sloping resistance lines. The stationer has been on a charge of late, and has some serious momentum behind it. It rallied sharply from 440p to 520p before topping out at 527p from where it took a breather back to 500p, finding support on the sloping uptrend. Spreadex has a daily price of 529.6p-533.4p.
Walt Disney’s share price has had a magical few months with last week’s results keeping the pace very much alive. Although the stock traced the market down to March 2009 lows and lost over 50 per cent in the process, the summer rally has been supported by news that a theme park will open in mainland China. As a result, Disney’s share price is fast closing in on the early 2008 highs around $35. IG Markets’ current pr ice is $30.52-$30.53.
Inter-dealer broker ICAP is announcing its half-year results today and expectations are good, especially after Panmure Gordon raised it to a “Buy” yesterday. Market volatility and a robust business model have served the firm well and the broker’s above-sector price-earnings ratio and 4 per cent dividend yield indicate
that this is a solid stock. IG Markets offers ICAP at 425.6p– 426p.
If you’ve been attracted to gold because of the current surge in price you might want to consider one of the large US quoted mining stocks like Newmont Mining where the margin requirement is only 10 per cent rather than a gold future which requires you to put down a margin deposit of $3,500. WorldSpreads is offering a spread of $52.40-$52.41.