Yesterday – notes Greg Secker – the government launched a debt insurance plan for banks causing the FTSE to close up 66 points at 3915. RBS rocketed up from 6p to 29p while Lloyds also rose from 17.5p to 75p. The government hopes the Asset Protection Scheme will boost lending by reducing banks’ uncertainty about the value of past investments. The Dow tested the 7400 resistance level for the second day and dropped steadily throughout the whole day to close at a loss of 89 points at 7182. The decline away from 7,400 indicates the index may test lows at around 7,115 soon and could put in new lows for the weekend. The daily chart also shows that the entire week trading range has been consolidating beneath the major support at 7,450 and that is highly indicative of weakness ahead. A quiet day today in Forex related data releases with the USD Preliminary q/q GDP being the only release to note at 1.30 pm which is expected to fall significantly. Yesterday – notes Greg Secker – we had a series of poorer than expected figures from the US. Core Durable Goods Orders, Unemployment Claims and New Home Sales all came in lower than expectations.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index closed up 33 points, to 3,848 in the previous session and is expected to open 20 to 30 points higher today, according to financial bookmakers. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland is likely to be the centre of attention as it is set to post a record UK corporate loss of up 28 billion pounds ($40 billion) and unveil a far-reaching restructuring and plans to limit further losses from risky assets.
The Dow tested the 7,400 resistance line and dropped sharply to close at 7270 with a loss of 80 points from the previous session. The 7,400 resistance line will be good to watch today as an upside break through this zone could spark a possible rally.
In forex news today, the GBP Nationwide HPI results are out at 07.00 am with a slight reduction expected. Then watch out at 1030 when BOE Governor King speaks. Plenty of USD data releases due today with Core Durable Goods Orders and unemployment claims out at 1330. Then at 1500 the New Home sales are released. The Core Durable Goods are expecting a slight improvement, with the unemployment claims to remain steady. The New Home sales are expecting a small contraction. Then later in the evening the NZD are expecting Building Consents. Sterling plunged again yesterday on the back of poor GDP figures released by BOE, together with concerns of the UK banking system.
The FTSE 100 index ended 129.31 points, or 3.2 percent lower, on Friday at 3,889.06, giving a loss of 7.2 percent for the week and 12 percent in total for this year. The London Index reached 3907.36 – surpassing the previous low for the year which was 3956.7. Market analysts predict that London’s leading index will now flirt with the 3800 level if selling price action continues. On Friday, the Dow opened the day with early selling pressure and dropped to new lows. The index then reversed sharply from lows, but still ended the day with a loss of 100 points. The daily chart shows the index broke through critical support at 7,450 and reached a low of 7,250 before bouncing higher into the close. If the Dow breaks through 7,200, we could see high pressure ahead. Otherwise, a break through the near-term upper trend line at 7,500 could spark a nice short-term rise of the index. Forex news: the only significant Forex news out today is CAD core retail sales at 13.30, forecast at -2.0%, previously -2.3%. News to watch out for for the rest of the week for US dollar traders includes: USD consumer confidence index for the month of February, forecast to reach a fresh record low; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to testify before the Senate on the economic and Fed policy so listen closely for more detailed outlooks on growth, unemployment, inflation, and the financial markets; US Durable Goods Orders due out later in the week, forecast to have dropped 2.3 percent; and the preliminary reading of Q4 GDP for the US forecast to be revised even lower after initial estimates showed the index down 3.5 percent.Â
The FTSE 100 index ended 129.31 points, or 3.2 percent lower, on Friday at 3,889.06, giving a loss of 7.2 percent for the week and 12 percent in total for this year. The London Index reached 3907.36 – surpassing the previous low for the year which was 3956.7. Market analysts predict that London’s leading index will now flirt with the 3800 level if selling price action continues. On Friday, the Dow opened the day with early selling pressure and dropped to new lows. The index then reversed sharply from lows, but still ended the day with a loss of 100 points. The daily chart shows the index broke through critical support at 7,450 and reached a low of 7,250 before bouncing higher into the close. If the Dow breaks through 7,200, we could see high pressure ahead. Otherwise, a break through the near-term upper trend line at 7,500 could spark a nice short-term rise of the index. Forex news: the only significant Forex news out today is CAD core retail sales at 13.30, forecast at -2.0%, previously -2.3%. News to watch out for for the rest of the week for US dollar traders includes: USD consumer confidence index for the month of February, forecast to reach a fresh record low; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to testify before the Senate on the economic and Fed policy so listen closely for more detailed outlooks on growth, unemployment, inflation, and the financial markets; US Durable Goods Orders due out later in the week, forecast to have dropped 2.3 percent; and the preliminary reading of Q4 GDP for the US forecast to be revised even lower after initial estimates showed the index down 3.5 percent.Â
The FTSE 100 index ended 129.31 points, or 3.2 percent lower, on Friday at 3,889.06, giving a loss of 7.2 percent for the week and 12 percent in total for this year. The London Index reached 3907.36 – surpassing the previous low for the year which was 3956.7. Market analysts predict that London’s leading index will now flirt with the 3800 level if selling price action continues. On Friday, the Dow opened the day with early selling pressure and dropped to new lows. The index then reversed sharply from lows, but still ended the day with a loss of 100 points. The daily chart shows the index broke through critical support at 7,450 and reached a low of 7,250 before bouncing higher into the close. If the Dow breaks through 7,200, we could see high pressure ahead. Otherwise, a break through the near-term upper trend line at 7,500 could spark a nice short-term rise of the index. Forex news: the only significant Forex news out today is CAD core retail sales at 13.30, forecast at -2.0%, previously -2.3%. News to watch out for for the rest of the week for US dollar traders includes: USD consumer confidence index for the month of February, forecast to reach a fresh record low; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to testify before the Senate on the economic and Fed policy so listen closely for more detailed outlooks on growth, unemployment, inflation, and the financial markets; US Durable Goods Orders due out later in the week, forecast to have dropped 2.3 percent; and the preliminary reading of Q4 GDP for the US forecast to be revised even lower after initial estimates showed the index down 3.5 percent.Â
Yesterday – notes Greg Secker – the FTSE closed up 11 points at 4018. After piercing the 4000 mark early on for the second day running, the index rallied back up around midday to close above the key level. With banks leading the rise the highest faller was Old Mutual down 12.74 %. This fall may be partly because investors are turning to bank shares today because they have been under valued, trading at less than their book value, but also because of Legal & General’s announcement that it has reduced most of its with-profits bonuses.  The U.S. stock market’s fall on Thursday initially had investors steering clear of three-month intraday lows tested earlier in the week. The Dow finished at a more than six year low sinking 89 points at 7465, causing the index to close at its lowest level since Oct. 9, 2002.  In forex news today the GBP is expecting retail sales at 0930 with a forecast of 0.00% down from 1.6 % the previous month. In CAD, the core CPI figures are due at 1200 with the USD core CPI figures due at 1.30pm, both are expecting a slight improvement.
The FTSE closed down 27.30 points, or 0.7 percent, at 4,006.83 on Wednesday. The FTSE, writes Greg, 100 is predicted to open lower today by 4 to 11 points, after retreating for five sessions in a row. The Dow opened the day with an early decline in the morning session, as the index dropped to 7,480 before buyers pushed the index higher by 135 points to the 7,615 zone. The index then fell flat for the rest of the day and eventually closed the session with a modest gain of just 3 points. The hourly chart shows the index is now consolidating in a range of 7,475 to 7,700. Look for the Dow to continue to build out in this consolidation until a possible breakout. Typically, consolidations that form at lows lead to more selling pressure, so watch the bottom of the pattern closely. Keep an eye on the November lows at 7,450, as all traders will be watching this zone. In forex news: At 1:30pm USD PPI m/m and Unemployment claims expected to be better, so watch out! The cost of protecting Japanese debt from default fell after the Bank of Japan said it will buy as much as 1 trillion yen ($10.7 billion) of corporate bonds in a bid to spur borrowing and stem the deepening recession.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 2 to 10 points lower on Wednesday according to financial bookmakers, after closing at its lowest level in three months in the previous session. The UK benchmark closed down 100.62 points, or 2.4 percent at 4,034.13 on Tuesday, retreating for the fourth straight session. The Dow opened yesterday with major selling pressure and broke below 7,800 finally to a test at 7,550, as seen in the 15 and 60 Minute Charts. The index eventually closed the day at the lows of the session with a loss of 298 points and could be headed lower tomorrow. The 15 minute chart shows the Dow holding a tight consolidation range from 7,550 to 7700. If it breaks out from this consolidation and tests the november lows of 7450, we could either see a quick increase in buying pressure or if buying is minimal, we could see the index heading for new lows at 7,000. In forex news today for the GBP the MPC Meeting Minutes are due at 0930 to highlight members recent voting on monetary policy. At 1330 US Building permits are due which is expected to see a slight reduction to 0.53M. Then at 1800 US Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks. Yesterday – notes Greg Secker – , in the US the TIC Long Term Purchases which is an indication of US long term securities purchased by foreigners came in at significantly higher than expected at 34.8B.Â
The FTSE 100 finished down 54 points to 4135. London’s leading shares ended well in the red as banks weighed on the benchmark index with Lloyds ending the day back in negative territory. By the end of the day, Lloyds fell back down again as fears grew that it may need more funds cover the black hole at HBOS. Meanwhile, Gordon Brown today insisted that he had no regrets “at all†about giving the thumbs up to go ahead with the merger. The Dow closed on Friday with a loss of 82 points. The index continued to hold above the major lower trend line that had formed beneath the lows of the last five weeks based on the 60 minute bar chart. We have to be watchful of big reversals off lines like this in the form of a bullish inverted head-and-shoulders pattern that could spark big strength today as it breaks the neck line at 8,000. Otherwise we could look for another test at lows at around 7,700 if the index remains beneath 8,000. Forex News: Experts are expecting inflation to show a further sharp fall as recession pressures continue to mount. Steep discounts on the high street and a drag on firms’ pricing power is set to push the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation from 3.1% to about 2.7% in January, although one leading economist is looking for a fall to 2.4%. Experts also predict that Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation – including housing and mortgage related costs – may fall into negative territory for the first time in nearly 49 years, further stoking fears over deflation. 9:30am GBP CPI y/y is expected at 2.6% (higher than previous number). EUR German Economic sentiment at 10am is also expected to be slightly better at -26.5. Finally USD TIC Long-Term purchases figures are out 2pm.
The FTSE 100 ended down 0.3 percent on Friday, led by banks dragged down by Lloyds Banking Group’s plunge on a worse-than-expected loss at its HBOS unit, while oil stocks offered a gleam of hope. The FTSE, writes Greg, 100 closed 12.65 points lower at 4,189.59, after trading as high as 4,291.57. As an overview of the week The FTSE 100 was down 2.4 percent this week and is down 5.5 percent for the year after falling more than 31 percent last year.
The Dow closed down 82 points at 7850 on Friday. After opening modestly in the morning the index pulled back from the high of the day forming a tight consolidation on the 15 minute chart that lasted through the day. As the week begins, lookout for another test at around 7,700 if the index remains beneath the 8,000 mark.
In Forex-related data, German and Italian Preliminary quarterly GDP figures came in worse than expected on Friday at -2.1% and -1.8%. Friday was also Day 1 of the G7 meetings. In the US, University of Michigan’s preliminary Consumer Sentiment also came in worse than expected at 56.2.
There have been dramatic and rapid shifts in unemployment around the globe which has led to speculation that unemployment is now a leading rather than lagging indicator. This rapid reaction to declining demand is due to the deregulation of labour markets.
Forex news today: US banks will be closed in observance of President’s Day. Watch out for low liquidity and irregular volatility. No other significant news out today.
