The FTSE 100 slipped 20 points yesterday to close at 3,968.40 as an early rally in mining stocks reversed. While news that Goldman Sachs had turned a profit in the first quarter buoyed investors, economic news has been gloomier since, news releases included US retail sales down and Swiss bank UBS announcing further job losses. Legal & General led the index into negative territory, declining by 8.44 per cent, followed by Vedanta Resources, which was 7.99 per cent down. The miners also took a hit with the firm Xstrata falling 6.68 per cent, while Antofagasta dropped 6.36 per cent. However, defensive stocks lent support, including British American Tobacco, which was trading 4.62 per cent higher, and energy supplier Centrica, which rose 3.52 per cent. Stocks on Wall Street shook off the tentative mood that dominated much of the day’s trading to finish strongly ahead for the fourth time in five days. A belief that prospects for consumer-staples and industrial shares have improved helped sway investor sentiment along with American Express saying growth in bad loans slowed. The main Dow Jones index jumped 109.44 points, or 1.4%, to 8029.62 while the S&P 500 added 1.3% to 852.06. Today on FX news the US Building Permits and Unemployment Claims are due to be released at 12.30.
The FTSE 100 Index ended the day up 5.3 points at 3989, after trading above the big number – 4,000 at times during the day. Banking stocks took the lead from strong first-quarter profits from Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment, overnight. Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays both posted double-digit percentage gains, adding 8.4p to 87.9p and 18p to 195.5p respectively. However, news of unexpected declines in retail sales and producer prices offset optimism from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, that the economy’s slump may be slowing.
Wall Street moved into reverse yesterday after a surprisingly weak retail sales report punctured investors’ optimism about the economy.
The poor sales data, combined with a sharp drop in wholesale prices, came just as the corporate earnings season, usually a volatile time in the market, got under way. The Dow Jones industrials lost nearly 140 points. Underlining the market’s sensitivity, shares in Intel Corp. fell sharply in after-hours trading yesterday after the chipmaker reported weaker results and didn’t offer a forecast for revenue.
Financial stocks tumbled after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced strong profits but said it would raise $5 billion to repay government bailout money. Investors speculated that other major banks might follow suit, which would put pressure on their stocks. Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are also due to report results this week. The Dow closed down 137.63, or 1.7 percent, at 7,920.18.
The week has started on a positive note for markets across the globe, after traders came back from Easter celebrations in a joyous mood. Yesterday – notes Greg Secker – the European markets were still closed and therefore liquidity was thin and moves were more extreme than normal, with GBP/USD making an impressive rally towards 1.49. The first earnings results were positive for Goldman Sachs and also Citigroup, however traders are not convinced yet as to what the next day’s releases will mean to the current fragile economic environment. At 1:30pm USD high news with Core CPI and 2pm TIC long-term purchases with the latter expected to be much better than previous forecast. Watch out for volatility during these times.
Investors dumped stocks for a second day Tuesday, prolonging a break from a huge four-week rally as the market girds itself for potentially grim earnings reports.The FTSE100 closed down 63 points yesterday closing at 3930. RBS took the biggest fall as the bank said it will be getting rid of 9,000 jobs worldwide. Barclays and Lloyds also fell heavily as the IMF said that toxic assets from the banking sector could hit up to £2.7trn. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 186 points to close at 7789. Analysts related the pullback to profit-taking after a huge advance in March that gave the Dow its best four-week performance in more than 75 years. Traders are also getting nervous ahead of reports from Aloca Inc., the giant aluminium maker that is the first of the 30 companies that make up the Dow to post quarterly results. The company has reported that it lost $497 million in its first quarter as prices fell for the lightweight metal company. Investors have worried that Alcoa’s results would set the tone for worrying results to come. In forex news, when tradng the CAD today, watch out for high news at 1:15pm on housing starts which is a leading indicator of economic health. At 7pm tonight, FOMC releases his meeting minutes which is a detialed record of the FOMC’s most recent meeting providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced their vote on where to set interest rates.
London’s top shares slipped 0.90 percent on Monday, dragged down by a poor start on Wall Street as miners led the fallers. The benchmark FTSE 100 ended the day down at 3,993.54 points. Leisure travel group TUI Travel was the best blue chip performer, climbing 4.7 percent — or 12 pence — to 267.5, followed by integrated energy giant Centrica , which added 4.62 percent — or 10.25 pence — to stand at 232. Property companies moved higher after reports of a deal with UK retailers over service charges and rent, which could save a number of shop chains from administration. Stocks gaining positive territory included Land Securities which added 14.5p to 497.5p and British Land from 14p to 424p. Wall Street pulled back for the first time in five days Monday as investors worried about balance sheets at banks and the quarterly results that businesses will start releasing this week. Investors learnt about talks for IBM Corp.’s $7 billion deal to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. have stalled — a sign that the market is still not ready to support big mergers. The Dow Jones industrials fell 41.74, or 0.5 percent, to 7,975.85 after being down as much as 155 points. EURUSD Outlook The EURUSD failed to continued it’s bullish scenario yesterday. The pair attempted to push higher, topped at 1.3578 but further bullish scenario was rejected as the pair whipsawed to the downside, hit bottom at 1.3358 and closed at 1.3415. No high news on the calendar today.
Britain’s FTSE100 blue-chip index gave up much of Thursday’s 4.3pc gain following the publication of US unemployment numbers. Although the job losses were in line with expectations, the FTSE 100 finished the day down 95.3 points – or 2.3pc – at 4029.67. The FTSE, writes Greg, 250 also shed 110.08 points to 6926.2. In Forex related news on Friday the UK Halifax House Price Index (m/m) indicated a monthly fall of 1.9% on UK house prices, however, the UK Services PMI rose to 45.5 and is approaching the 50.0+ level considered expansionary. The Services PMI is considered a leading indicator of economic strength as business purchasing managers hold a very current perspective of their company’s view of the economy, particularly in the UK – an economy with a large services sector.
In the US the all important Non-Farm Employment Change figure came in slightly worse than expected at -663K, supported by an increase in the Unemployment Rate figure at 8.5%. The US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI also came in lower than last month at 40.8.
In Forex related news today we only have significant releases for the CAD (Building Permits m/m and the Ivey PMI) and the NZD (NZIER Business Confidence).
The Dow ended at another positive close 39 points up after the Treasury Secretary said that he’s prepared to give assistance to bank’s that need exceptional aid in order to get through the current economic state. The index closed at 8017, and has been climbing for the last few trading days but may get rejected at 2 Fibonacci timeframes and continue on it’s long term downtrend.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 3 to 13 points lower on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. This is after a long rally of 169 points on Thursday to close at 4124 after strong G20-inspired gains in the past two sessions with all eyes on the latest U.S. jobs report. This is the first time in six weeks the FTSE has climbed above the 4000 level. World leaders set out a $1.1 trillion package to help revive the global economy on Thursday.
Dow News: Investors dove into stocks Thursday, extending a rally that gave the Dow Jones Industrial Average its best four weeks since 1933. Stocks rose across the board in heavy trading following an accounting rule change that will help banks pare their losses and after commitments from world leaders to toughen regulatory oversight of financial institutions. The Dow broke through 8,000 for the first time since Feb. 9 but ended slightly below that level ahead of the government’s employment report Friday that could easily upset the market if it comes in below forecasts — or send prices rocketing higher if it’s better than expected.
Significant Forex-related news released today: At 9am, we see Halifax HPI m/m figures out of the UK, forecast at -1.9 %, from -2.3% previous, and also Services PMI at 9.30am forecast at 43.6 from 43.2 previous. Out of the US we see Non Farm Payrolls (March) due out at 1.30pm today, forecast at -659K from previous -651K. The US Unemployment Rate, also released at 1.30pm, is forecast at 8.5% vs. 8.1% previously. Finally, US ISM Manufacturing (Mar) numbers are released at 3pm, forecast at 41.9 vs. 41.6 previously.Â
Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 69 to 78 points on Thursday after closing up 29 points at 3955, tracking gains in the U.S. and Asian markets, financial bookmakers predicted, as leaders of the Group of 20 gather in London to discuss the global financial crisis. World leaders are determined to declare an end to unfettered capitalism at the G20 summit after France and Germany demanded they act fast on promises to prevent a repeat of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
Stocks gained positive territory on Wednesday as factory and home sales data raised hopes the economic downturn is moderating, sparking a broad advance. Private-sector job losses accelerate Healthcare limits gains after Celgene (CELG.O) outlook The Dow Jones Industrial average rallied 153 points or 2 percent. 27 of 30 Dow components finished the session higher.
In forex related news yesterday we saw a rise in AUD building approvals m/m, and in the UK we improved manufacturing PMI which is a leading indicator of economic health as businesses react quickly to market conditions. In the US the ADP Non-Farm Employment figures were worse than expected so watch out for the Non-Farm Payroll release on Friday – tighten stop losses and no new positions.
In forex news. The AUD Trade Balance released overnight was better than expected at 2.11B. The GBP Nationwide HPI m/m figure released this morning at 6.00am showed a surprising increase to 0.9%. At 8.30am the CHF Gov Board member Hildebrand Speaks. At 11.45am the EUR Minimum Bid Rate is expected to be cut to 1.00%, then later at 12.30pm the ECB holds its press conference. Also at 12.30pm the USD Unemployment Claims are due with results of 649K expected.
The FTSE closed up 163 points yesterday closing at 3926. HSBC, Vodafone, GlaxoSmithKline, BP and Shell the index’s biggest by market cap made the most significant gains all rising between 2 and 7 percent. Barclays had the worst time as it fell 0.74 percent only 2 other shares ended in the red. The massive rise in the FTSE wasn’t surprising as the Dow Jones rose 86 points closing at 7617 the 2 index’s rise was the biggest monthly rally for global equities since 2003, based on the speculation banks have grown more eager to lend and investors bought March’s best performing stocks. In forex news, overnight the AUD Building Approvals m/m figure exceeded expectations with an increase of 7.8%, however the Retail Sales m/m figure was well below expected at -2.0% a significant drop on previous month. At 8:30am the GBP Manufacturing PMI is due with no significant change expected. In a heavy USD news day, starts at 12.15pm with ADP Non Farm Payroll Employment change which is expected to see a further reduction of 660K jobs. Then at 2.00pm ISM Manufacturing PMI is due with a steady result expected. Also at 2.00pm the Pending Home Sales m/m is expected to show to an increase to 0.2%.
