Please find below the Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

After an opening spurt higher, markets are once again sitting on the fence.

European markets are trading higher as a follow on from last night’s late rally on US markets, but activity has since settled down to a more pedestrian pace.

The Dow Jones is now unchanged for the day. In fact, the Dow is now unchanged for the week and if this continues; this week will see one of the tightest trading ranges since the Christmas week.

The reduction in volatility is potentially another sign that the worst of the crisis is over.

Equities are slightly weaker on news that US mortgage rates have increased and the trade deficit widened. However this has so far taken the wind out of any rally attempt today rather than sparking any significant selling.

UK banks are stronger today on broker upgrades and positive news from Sweden as their banks pass a stress test. Energy stocks are also performing well as crude oil pushes through the $71 level.

The pound continues to stretch ahead, reaching its best levels against the euro since the 3rd of December. Paul Krugman the Nobel prize winning economist recently pointed out that the UK is performing very well compared to its European peers.

UK PMI has recovered quicker than other European nations and is now marginally in expansive territory. The weak pound helped boost exports, but the recovery in sterling could now have the opposite effect.

Dow Jones Fixed Odds Trading

This trading range may not continue for long, especially with next Friday being triple witiching when futures, options and options on futures expire on the same day.

A Fixed Odds break out trade predicting that the Dow Jones will breakout and touch 8500 or 9000 in the next 9 days could return 30%.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Markets are listless as traders weigh up the positive numbers from Texas instruments against the potential for North Korea to do something unexpected with its weapons program.

The positive side of all this inactivity is that volatility continues to reduce, which historically has been good news for equity markets which can turn at points such as this.

The wild panic of the credit crunch appears to be easing and the grim reality of a slow recovery is taking hold.

Oil is holding above the $65 marker, but the real action today has been on the currency markets with sterling making sizeable gains against the dollar and euro.

Last week the pound plunged on rumours of Gordon Brown resigning. Sterling has bounced back strongly as the PM remains in his position.

Is this a coincidence? Perhaps not, FX traders seem to be reassured by the continuity of Brown staying in the job. They may not approve of Brown per se, but something known is better than an unknown in the current climate.

A case of better the devil you know.

GBP/USD Fixed Odds

The pound has been in a strong up trend since March and the latest recovery has only set the GBP/USD back on its previous course.

A One Touch trade predicting that GBP/USD will rise and touch the recent highs of $1.6621 in the next 7 days could return 135%.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

Caution is creeping back into financial markets after what was largely a positive week for equities.

Traders still don’t know what to make of Friday’s Non Farm Payroll numbers, with some still questioning the data.

There is little by the way of economic announcements today so investors are taking the opportunity to book any gains from last week, while waiting to see which may momentum flows over the coming trading week.

The has been a lot of talk about sterling coming under pressure with Brown’s imminent demise, but more of this move was down to a resurgent dollar rather than a weaker pound.

Today sterling is holding up well against the dollar, while the euro is having a poor day.

Traders are buying the dollar on speculation that the Fed could raise rates by 0.5% before the end of the year, while the euro is under pressure on another sovereign credit rating downgrade for Ireland.

EUR/USD Fixed Odds Trade

The EUR/USD has been volatile of late and this could continue for the week ahead.

There is no major news until later in the week, but often the lack of economic announcements can make pairs more volatile as liquidity drops.

A Fixed Odds Expiry Miss Trade predicting that EUR/USD will be below $1.3675 or above $1.4134 in the next 4 days could return 144%.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

European equities enjoyed a spurt as US markets opened higher on the latest NFP numbers.

Job losses came in much lower than anticipated causing short term volatility on equity futures and currency markets.

Treasuries plunged and stocks surged at the open, but this initial move was short lived. Unconfirmed rumours speculated that the best NFP numbers in comparison to expectations since September were caused by a computer error.

Not all moves have been so quick to reverse – in Forex – the dollar is still in demand, pushing back against the euro and sterling. Crude oil also nudged above $70 only to pull back, pulling the energy sector down with it.

Senior advisors to President Obama warned that the payroll numbers were still dreadful and that unemployment could remain at these levels for some time. Most of the fires have been put out, but there is still a gruelling rebuilding period to come.

For the time being though, investors are celebrating the possibility that the worst of the crisis is over.

GBP/USD Financial Fixed Odds Trade

The dollar has staged a remarkable comeback in the last three days, but the longer term trend still remains. A bull trade predicting that the GBP/USD will be higher than $1.6000 in 5 days could return 100%

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

Equity markets are muted today with most of the action happening on FX Markets.

Three central banks; the MPC, the ECB and the BOC produced rate statements today, with all three choosing to keep rates on hold.

This was largely predicted in advance, but there have still been some big swings on currencies today.

The biggest move on GBP/USD has been attributed to rumours that Gordon Brown was quitting. Although the rumours are unfounded, cable dropped dramatically around that time and is yet to recover.

Rumours are also flying over the potential impact of Latvia defaulting on its loans and the relative exposure of nearby countries such as Sweden and Denmark.

Oil is pushing higher today, despite natural gas storage coming in ahead of expectations.

Today is the first time in a while that oil has traded out of step with US equities and the dollar. Equity markets could remain quiet until the release of tomorrow’s non farm payroll numbers.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

The rally has stalled today as investors take a moment to pause and catch their bearings.

Most markets are still above Friday’s closing level, with the notable exception being the FTSE which is being hit hard after many blue chips went ex-dividend. This only accounts for small portion of today’s sell off which is primarily being driven by re-emergence of a safety approach from investors.

Yesterday the Dow poked its head into positive territory for 2009 and today investors are wondering if they have got a little too ahead of themselves recently.

In a reversal of recent trends, money is flowing away from financials and oil and into the perceived safety of Treasuries and the US dollar.

Crude oil briefly sunk below $67 on news that oil inventories were better than expected. The dollar performed well today against a basket of world currencies, despite weak ADP jobs data indicating a poor NFP report to come on Friday.

The rally has stalled and a quick pullback to close Monday’s opening gap on US markets seems on the cards. For the first time in many months investors appear let enthusiasm overcome caution. Now the enthusiasm is waning, but it hasn’t disappeared entirely just yet.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

It is a mixed bag out there for equities today. The FTSE got off to a rocky start with the news that IPIC would be pulling some of its investment in Barclays and banking the profits made to date.

Considering the fact that Barclays slumped to 50p following their initial purchase, the Gulf investors have held their nerve well and booking gains at just below current prices seems understandable in the circumstances.

This of course is not great news for Barclays as it raises fresh capital adequacy issues. Barclays has been benefitting from an independence premium, rising faster and further than that its rivals that had to take part in the UK government asset protection scheme.

Now that ‘premium’ is being called into question, though Barclays may be better placed to whether the storm now that optimism appears to be creeping back into the global economic psyche.

Oil is continuing its bull run. It’s remarkable to note that crude prices have doubled in just 75 trading days from $33.75 to current levels.

Gold is back on the offensive after taking a breather yesterday and the dollar is coming under further pressure as the pound breaches levels not seen since November.

The flight to quality continues to unwind, helped especially by news that US pending homes sales have risen by far more than expected.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Please find below the Financial Fixed Odds report from David Evans, market analyst at BetOnMarkets.

It was a good start in Europe this morning, but US markets gapped higher this afternoon and today’s rally in equity markets has stepped up a gear.

Today’s ISM manufacturing data contracted at its slowest pace for eight months. The economic crisis is still very real but, there are ever increasing signs of a recovery from the world’s biggest economy.

Like a fairground ride, the rollercoaster has completed its worst loops and gut wrenching turns and appears to be slowing down towards the end of the ride. At least that is what investors are hoping is happening.

There is certainly evidence of confidence returning to markets with cash allocation falling for most managed funds as investors pour money back into the stock market.

We could be seeing a great unwinding of the extreme flight to safety that happened post Lehman Brothers. Now it appears traders want to pick up where they left off, pushing resources stocks higher and betting on higher inflation in the future.

Gold hit $988 today and crude oil pushed to over $68.

It is no coincidence that the so called BRIC nations have seen their stock markets rally strongly in 2009, with the Russian stock market up 70% this year. Demand from emerging nations such as China fuelled the commodity boom prior to the credit crunch, now it appears they are leading the recovery with oil following in the tail wind.

S+P 500 Fixed Odds

Despite the strong rally, the S+P 500 has gapped up this morning and gaps tend to get filled more often than not.

A Fixed Odds One Touch bet predicting that the S+P 500 will close the gap and touch 919 in the next 7 days could return 78%.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.