Despite better than expected US consumer confidence data for August which came in at 53.5 against an expectation of 50.5 yesterday last month was a month to forget for risk with equity markets down across the board, and oil prices also slipping back on fears of weaker demand.

The Gold spread betting market stood out as the yellow metal continued to benefit from a flight to safety along with significant gains for the Swiss franc and Japanese yen. Meanwhile, the US dollar which usually benefits from safe haven capital flows, slipped back suggesting a shift away from the greenback in investor sentiment with respect to safe haven currencies.

The published minutes of the August FOMC meeting were pretty much as expected with differing concerns amongst members about how markets would perceive the decision to keep the balance sheet unchanged.

Unsurprisingly Kansas Fed President Thomas Hoenig remained the sole dissenter with respect to the loose language in the statement as well as further stimulus measures.

After last weeks focus on the US GDP numbers the markets gaze now shifts to this Friday’s main employment report in the US, but before that there is the small matter of today’s ADP employment numbers for August, which are expected to show a net change of 20k, and the ISM manufacturing data, which is expected to fall from last month’s 55.5 to around 53.0.

Both these figures need to surprise to the upside for investors to dip their collective toes back in the water and become less defensive, and economic data out of Asia earlier today could well help risk appetite in that respect, after Chinese PMI in August rose to 51.7 from July’s 51.2 and above expectations of 51.5, while Australian Q2 GDP rose 1.2% against an expectation of a rise of 0.9%.

In Europe and the UK the publication of August PMI data is expected to show that manufacturing continues to expand at a consistent rate with UK PMI expected to slip slightly to 57 from the 57.3 reading in July.

However with gold returning near to this year’s spread betting all-time highs against the dollar, the euro and the pound, it is clear that investors remain to be convinced about an economic recovery and continue to hedge their exposure to riskier assets.

EURUSD – the 50 day moving average at 1.2780 continues to act as a cap on euro gains; however it has also been unable to break below the key 1.2605 support level over the past couple of days.

A close above the 50 day average at 1.2780 is needed to see the euro push back towards last week’s highs around 1.2920, but it shouldn’t negate the overall bearish sentiment surrounding the single currency.

We still expect to see a break and close below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level at 1.2605 which would then target the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at 1.2435.

GBPUSD – the pound’s lack of upside momentum finally gave way to some capitulation selling on the crosses yesterday, particularly against the Swiss franc where it broke 2 year lows at 1.5800, which dragged the cable below both the 50 and 200 day moving averages in the process, heading towards the 1.5320 level, which is the 38.2% retracement of the up move from the 1.4230 lows to the recent highs around 1.6000.

A break below 1.5320 would then open up 1.5115 which is the 50% level, while the pound would need to regain and close above the 200 day average around 1.5440 to stabilise in the short term.

EURGBP – the euro had a pretty good day against the pound yesterday pushing above last weeks highs at 0.8245, but stopping short of the 0.8300/10 resistance level.

Over the past few days we have seen a couple of potential bullish candlesticks on the daily charts, however the lack of follow through remains a concern while below the 0.8300/10 resistance.

The failure to see the single currency close last week below the key 0.8165/70 level was a concern I highlighted in yesterday’s note being that it is the 50% retracement move of the 2007/2008 uptrend.

A test of the previous lows at 0.8065/70 or the 0.7785 level is unlikely to happen until we see this chain of events unfold.

USDJPY – yen strength remains the order of the day despite the additional stimulus measures announced by the BOJ at the weekend it has posted its 4th successive monthly rise against the greenback.

The dollar will still remain susceptible to the odd short squeeze of the like we saw on Friday, but until such time as the market is able to take the dollar above 86.25 then further downside is the preferred scenario.

The new 15 year lows of 83.60 remain the next target to aim at as the market looks to test for further US dollar declines towards the 80.00 level.

By Michael Hewson, Market Analyst, CMC Markets.

CFDs, FX and Spread Trading are leveraged products and carry a high level of risk to your capital. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment. These products may not be suitable for all investors, therefore ensure you understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.

Please remember CMC Markets provide an execution-only service. Any of the above comments above, our research and charting tools are indicative and provided for information purpose and must not be relied upon as investment advice.

Friday’s comments from Fed chairman Bernanke that the Fed stands ready to act to provide additional stimulus if necessary, especially if the outlook weakens significantly doesn’t really change anything from the markets perspective.

The market continues to behave erratically swinging from “risk on” to “risk off” with every piece of economic data.

As if to reinforce the point, further monetary easing by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) was met with indifference yesterday as the yen continued to strengthen from its Friday lows.

The BOJ raised the amount of fixed rate of loans to banks to 30trn yen from 20trn yen which was probably the least it could do in a move that was pretty much expected and as a policy response to yen strength completely insufficient given the current sentiment prevailing in the market.

To be fair any steps they could take would probably go the same way, given the lack of appetite for a co-ordinated policy response from other G8 nations, who have their own problems to deal with.

This weeks US economic data in the wake of Bernanke’s comments last week is going to be a key test for risk aversion across the markets, starting today with the Case Shiller home price index, followed by US consumer confidence for August, which is expected to show a reading of 51, and could well print even lower, as well as the publication of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting which is probably not likely to throw any new light on possible US policy responses to deteriorating economic conditions.

As a result of the continued nervousness and risk aversion felt by investors, in online spread betting, the Swiss franc, yen and gold have continued to hold up with the single currency set to continue to make new all time lows against the franc.

EURUSD – another failure to close above the 50 day moving average has seen the single currency slip back towards the key 1.2605 level over the past couple of days.

A close above 1.2760 is needed to see the euro push back towards last week’s highs around 1.2920, but it shouldn’t negate the overall bearish sentiment surrounding the single currency.

We still expect to see a break and close below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level at 1.2605 which would then target the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at 1.2435.

GBPUSD – also in FX spread betting, the pound continues to hold above the 200 day moving average at 1.5440 which has continued to prompt rallies back towards last week’s highs at 1.5620.

The lack of follow through doesn’t augur well for any further gains. We would need to see a break above 1.5620 for that to happen, and a push higher towards the 1.5730 level.

The next level of support below 1.5440 is the 50 day moving average at 1.5410 and then the 1.5320 level, which would be a 38.2% retracement of the up move from the 1.4230 lows to the recent highs around 1.6000.

EURGBP – the euro is currently stuck in a range between the recent lows around 0.8142 and the last week’s highs around 0.8245. Momentum continues to remain negative while below the longer term resistance around 0.8300/10.

However we have yet to see the single currency close the week below the 0.8165/70 level as it is the 50% retracement move of the 2007/2008 uptrend. This means that a test of the previous lows at 0.8065/70 cannot be taken for granted.

Until we see this happen the possibility of further euro losses towards 0.7785, remains unlikely.

USDJPY – the dollar will remain susceptible to short squeezes of the like we saw on Friday but until such time as the market is able to take the dollar above 86.25 then further downside is the preferred scenario.

The new 15 year lows of 83.60 remain the next target to aim at as the market looks to test for further US dollar declines towards the 80.00 level.

As long as the dollar is able to close back below the 84.70/80 level then we should see a slow fall back towards last weeks lows and then on towards the 80.00 level.

By Michael Hewson, Market Analyst, CMC Markets.

CFDs, FX and Spread Trading are leveraged products and carry a high level of risk to your capital. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment. These products may not be suitable for all investors, therefore ensure you understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.

Please remember CMC Markets provide an execution-only service. Any of the above comments above, our research and charting tools are indicative and provided for information purpose and must not be relied upon as investment advice.

Last night saw the latest rally in US equity markets run out of steam and briefly show signs that there could be some downside to come.

The major indices had been range trading until recently hitting a run of strong sentiment that has seen some aggressive gains. The rally had been criticised by many for having no substance and last nights move will only fuel the fire that a pullback is on the cards.

The European session again looks a little light of any key data, especially on the economic calendar. So we could well be looking to earnings yet again tomorrow to give us some direction. As the session moves on US durable goods orders will likely be a focus as will the oil inventory data. With a tropical storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico the oil spreads are likely to see some volatility.

It’s another busy day for results on Wednesday with FTSE stalwarts BG Group, BAT, Compass, Invensys, Rexam, Rolls-Royce, Sage and Centrica all fighting for attention.

Centrica, which trades under the British Gas and Scottish Gas brands, is expected to have benefited from a chilly winter in the UK. The residential business will have done well from what Citigroup called “a benign pricing environment”.

The broker is predicting operating profits from British Gas of £583m at the interim stage, up from £299m last year, while the business division is tipped to double profits to £132m.

Catering giant Compass Group will release sales details for the third quarter of its financial year. Nomura predicts third quarter organic revenue growth of +4.3% year on year (you) versus -1.7% in the first quarter and +2.5% in the second quarter.

Tobacco firm BAT should report an increase in interim pre-tax profits, with Charles Stanley pencilling in a figure of £2,460m, up from £2,176m in the first half of 2009. The broker is hoping for a boost to the dividend from 27.9p last year to 33.1p at the interim stage this time.

Ahead of the open we expect to the FTSE to open up 3 points at 5,369, the DAX up 7 at 6,214, and the CAC up 1 at 3,667.

Spread betting, FX and CFDs are leveraged products. They carry a high level of risk to your capital. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment. These products may not be suitable for all investors, therefore ensure you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Note that CMC Markets provide an execution-only service. CMC Markets research and charting tools are indicative and provided for information purposes and must not be relied upon as investment advice.

Article by James Hughes, Analyst, CMC Markets.

The above content does not constitute investment advice. Neither CMC Markets nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accepts any responsibility for any use that may be made of the above.

CMC Markets is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority, registration no. 173730.

The Financial Fixed Odds update from David Evans, Market Analyst, BetOnMarkets.

The big announcement today is the UK’s emergency budget at 12.30pm.

This is a news item that is likely to have a huge impact on the pound today, especially the Pound/Dollar spreads .

Some expected measures such as the VAT hike have been leaked, but what the markets want to see is a hard hitting budget that will make serious inroads into the UK’s fiscal deficit. The UK’s credit rating is at risk should George Osborne be perceived to have not gone far enough.

The WSJ sums up the situation as: “…And the new UK government may wish to reduce the size of the state dramatically, but too much of the UK economy now is the state. It’s going to take a very long time to cut it back, as it will across Europe, where austerity now rules”.

In these volatile times, investors tend to cheer signs that we are “getting back to normal” after an extraordinary last couple of years. This is odd because they really don’t want that. A return to “normal” would just be the trailer for Credit Crunch 2.

They should, rather, cheer efforts at rebalancing, and hope that World economies can wait for the snail’s pace politics will be imposed on them. There’s really is no Plan B.

One way to play the budget would be with a Financial Fixed Odds Breakout Trade on the Euro/Pound to isolate the pound movements away from general risk on/risk aversion in the market.

You can currently get a return of 149% on a Breakout Trade predicting that the EUR/GBP will touch either £0.82 or £0.84 before the close on the 23 June. Note that you will lose 100% of your trade if that does not happen.

An alternative strategy would be to wait for the initial reaction then trade in the opposite direction as the dust settles. Often there is a knee jerk reaction to the budget then a secondary reaction as the fine print is revealed. At least that was the case with the previous government’s budgets.

Today’s Market Trends

This morning there’s a general weakening in the euro, especially against the Swiss Franc with the Euro/Swiss Franc spreads making a fresh record low today, trading down 0.35%.

The Swiss Franc has accumulated steadily since the Swiss National Bank announced it was scaling back its currency interventions, allowing the Franc to push to the higher levels.

Without the central bank interventions, we could see more dislocation between the Euro and the Swissy.

Gold is also trading higher after being hit for six yesterday, trading well below its record high of $1,265.

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

The Financial Fixed Odds update from David Evans, Market Analyst, BetOnMarkets.

It’s a quiet news day today with no real top tier announcements for the market to chew on.

The one item which might have some impact is UK public sector net borrowing at 09.30. Public sector borrowing is expected to balloon to £18.2bn, but this has largely been priced in already. If there are any significant deviations away from this number in either direction, there could be some good moves on offer for the GBP/USD.

Other than this, in theory it should be a relatively quiet day, but in the last few months the ‘quiet’ news days have been hit by tape bombs such as major ratings down grades for countries such as Greece or Spain.

So far forex markets are quiet with no real notable moves to speak of other than a general leaning towards the ‘risk on’ trade of the Australian Dollar and Euro etc rising against the US dollar.

Swiss Franc Looking Stronger

Switzerland took centre stage again yesterday after the Swiss National Bank dropped references to intervention in its latest policy note.

The SNB had been propping up the Swiss Franc with direct interventions in an attempt to stop it appreciating so rapidly. It appears that they have given up the ghost (for now) not least because the whole operating is incredibly expensive.

The Swiss Franc is seen as a safe haven, especially compared to the rest of Europe, so money has been pouring into the country from the likes of Germany, Spain and Greece.

The Swissy has gained a massive 1.6% against the US dollar today and shifted 1% against the euro. Also see Euro/Swiss Franc spreads and Dollar/Swiss Franc spreads.

The last major meetings with policy shifts resulted in major sell offs and a new record low of 1.3500 could be in the offing. A BetOnMarkets One Touch trader with a target of 1.3500, a new record low is a reasonable bet idea, but the EUR/CHF can be a tricky beast to predict.

Gold Trading Near Record Highs

In other news, Gold is tradingat near record high levels at $1245. It’s worth noting that although the record highs stand at over $1250, the metal has only closed above $1240 twice.

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

The Financial Fixed Odds update from David Evans, Market Analyst, BetOnMarkets.

Yesterday the Dow Jones (Wall Street) closed at its lowest level since November, losing over 4% in just two days.

There was no particular catalyst other than a lack of good news to spark the buyer’s interests.

The Aussie dollar also endured a hard day, slumping to its lowest level since July.

However, overnight markets have recovered with the Australian Dollar/US Dollar spreads up by 1% in early trading and stock markets set for a healthy bounce (US stock markets that is, Europe will still be playing catchup with the late session sell off).

Late comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke appear to have added some much needed enthusiasm, though it may just be short term traders stepping in to buy the at these over sold levels.

Yesterday, Gold made a push for its all time high levels of $1249, reaching $1244 at its peak.

The yen and US dollar are trading lower as risk appetite pushes money back into the euro, kiwi and principally the Aussie dollar.

There isn’t much economic data to chew on today again with German Industrial production at 11.00 and Canadian Housing starts at 13.15 the standout news items.

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

The Financial Fixed Odds update from David Evans, Market Analyst, BetOnMarkets.

This morning, inflation is the key theme with the Bank of England releasing the latest CPI (3.5% expected) and RPI levels (4.8% expected) at 09.30.

When inflation exceeds 3%, the governor of the bank of England is obliged to write a letter explaining the situation to the chancellor.

This can be a dry affair, but Mervyn King could use the opportunity to make some heavy points so there could be some action as the inflation numbers are released and the letter hits the newswires.

The Pound/Dollar is the one to watch for this. The pound has been dropping on speculation that Osbourne will able to get his cuts through.

Ironically it was the fear of the spending cuts not happening that was harming the pound previously. Now traders are speculating that the spending cuts will leave room for UK interest rates to stay lower for some time, which in turn hurts the pound in the medium term. Although the theory is that this should be good for Sterling in the long term.

In addition today, we have European inflation numbers at 10.00, following by US building permits and PPI at 13.30 PM.

Earlier today the Royal Bank of Australia released the minutes of its last meeting where they stated that rates were ‘well placed’. The statement has hit the Australian Dollar/US Dollar Spreads on speculation that another round of rate hikes won’t be seen for some time.

Aussie Dollar Drops as Commodities Prices Fall

Talking of the Aussie Dollar…it is interesting to note that the Australian dollar has accelerated its slide as commodities prices have dropped.

With all the talk of austerity measures across Europe, demand for raw commodities may be down on previous years, hurting a core part of the Australian economy.

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

If you decide to spread bet on a commodity such as US Crude Oil then, looking at a spread trading website like FinancialSpreads.com, you might see the crude oil spread of $72.85 – $72.90.

Therefore, you can spread bet on US Crude Oil to move

• Higher than $72.90
• Lower than $72.85.

When spread trading, you bet on every unit the market rises or falls; specifically, for the US Crude Oil market a unit is $0.01 of the commodity’s price movement.

In this case, you could decide to bet £2 for every $0.01 US Crude Oil moves up or down.

Buying – Spread Betting on the Market to Rise

If you bought US Crude Oil at $72.90 and the commodity went up then the spread might become $73.56 – $73.61. If that happened, you might choose to close your spread bet for a profit at $73.56.

Your Profits (or Losses) = (settlement value of the market – opening value of the market) x stake per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = ($73.56 – $72.90) x £2 per $0.01 stake
Your Profits (or Losses) = $0.66 x £2 per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = £132 profit

The markets can of course fall, if the market had moved down to, as an example, $72.21 – $72.26, you could choose to close your spread bet to prevent further losses. Assuming this was the case, you would sell your trade at $72.21.

You would close your bet with the same £2 per $0.01 stake:

Your Profits (or Losses) = (settlement value of the market – opening value of the market) x stake per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = ($72.21 – $72.90) x £2 per $0.01 stake
Your Profits (or Losses) = -$0.69 x £2 per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = -£138 loss

 

Selling – Spread Betting on the Market to Fall

A key advantage of placing a spread bet is that investors can sell the markets.

If you recall, initially the spread betting price was $72.85 – $72.90.

If you were to go short of US Crude Oil at $72.85 and the commodity decreased then the market might be re-priced at $72.21 – $72.26. If this were the case, you might choose to close your bet for a profit by buying at $72.26.

Your Profits (or Losses) = (opening value of the market – settlement value of the market) x stake per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = ($72.85 – $72.26) x £2 per $0.01 stake
Your Profits (or Losses) = $0.59 x £2 per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = £118 profit

However, if the market had moved up to, as an example, $73.42 – $73.47, you could choose to close your bet to limit your losses. If so, you would buy back at $73.47.

With the same £2 per $0.01 stake:

Your Profits (or Losses) = (opening value of the market – settlement value of the market) x stake per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = ($72.85 – $73.47) x £2 per $0.01 stake
Your Profits (or Losses) = -$0.62 x £2 per $0.01
Your Profits (or Losses) = -£124 loss

US Crude Oil (March) prices taken as of 14-May-10.

More on Crude Oil Spread Betting

1) Where can I Spread Bet on the Crude Oil Market?
2) Where can I find Real-time Spread Betting Prices for the Crude Oil Market?
3) Where can I find Live Charts / Candlestick Charts for the Crude Oil Market?
4) How do you Spread Bet on the Crude Oil Market to Go Up?
5) How do you Spread Bet on commodities markets like Crude Oil to Go Down?
6) Where can I find more on trading commodities markets?

Risk Warning: Spread Betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you can lose more than your initial investment, it may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you only speculate with money that you can afford to lose and that you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.

The market wrap from Michael Hewson, Analyst, CMC Markets.

Stock markets and commodities have been sending mixed messages over the past 24 hours. We have seen some recovery in equities on the back of attempts by Spain to implement further drastic austerity measures in response to Monday’s EU bailout, and the formation of a new coalition government in the UK.

Despite these rises in equity markets, which would seem to suggest some return in risk appetite, investors remain concerned, hence the continued allure of Gold which continues to surge higher, making new all time highs against the US dollar, Euro and Sterling as investors flock to the safety of this long standing store of value, and safe haven.

Gold’s gains have also been driven by the decision of the EU to force the European Central Bank to implement bond purchases to drive down the risk premium on sovereign debt risk, which has acted as a form of quantitative easing, pushing yields down. It has also reinforced concerns about the further devaluation of fiat currencies, especially as the Bank of England didn’t rule out further quantitative easing in its inflation report yesterday.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King also delivered a sobering assessment of the problems facing the UK economy in this report especially over the next few months. He also indicated that interest rates were likely to remain low for the foreseeable future and this has led the pound to slide back. He did back the plans of the new UK coalition to take steps to start making cuts to the budget deficit now.

Today’s UK trade balance figures will be scrutinised carefully on the back of recent sterling weakness, for evidence that the weaker pound is having a positive effect with respect to exports.

In the US the market will be looking for further improvement in this week’s weekly jobless claims.

Forex Markets

EURUSD – now that the ripples of Monday’s bail-out are starting recede the Euro seems to settling down just above the lows of last week of $1.2520. This remains the key obstacle to further losses in the short term, as it seeks to work out some of the oversold momentum of the last few days.

The overall downward momentum remains in place with the upper boundary currently sits around the $1.3530 area.

There is also resistance just below the April lows at 1.3115/20. While the Euro continues to trade in this broad downward trend the target of 1.2135 over the next few weeks continues to be the primary objective. The 1.2135 level is a key Fibonacci support level in that it represents a 50% retracement of the up move from the all time Euro lows at 0.8230 set in the October 2000 to the highs of 2008 at 1.6040.

GBPUSD – Sterling had a mixed day yesterday, initially rallying above $1.5000 against the dollar on the back of a Cameron/Clegg bounce before slipping back on Bank of England governor Mervyn King’s comments.

The $1.5020/50 area continues to provide solid resistance in the short term, however if we do get above this level we could see a quick rally up to $1.5120. The support around the $1.4780 area remains key for now and with the political haggling out of the way the pound needs to stay above this support area to re-test the $1.5000 area.

EURGBP – the Euro continues to remain weak against the pound, though it has recovered some ground after the Bank of England inflation report yesterday. The main resistance lies around the £0.8730/40 area. The key support level remains around the 2009, and last week’s lows at £0.8400.

USDJPY – The dollar yen has remained somewhat sidelined over the last 24 hours recovering above ¥93.00 after the bounce off the ¥92.15 support area. With declining highs and possible increased risk aversion the yen could continue to strengthen if we break below ¥92.15 and re-target the ¥91.30 area.

We would need to see a break above the ¥93.50/60 area to re-target the April highs around ¥95.00.

Spread betting, FX and CFDs are leveraged products. They carry a high level of risk to your capital. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment. These products may not be suitable for all investors, therefore ensure you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Note that CMC Markets provide an execution-only service. CMC Markets research and charting tools are indicative and provided for information purposes and must not be relied upon as investment advice.

The above content does not constitute investment advice. Neither CMC Markets nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accepts any responsibility for any use that may be made of the above.

CMC Markets is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority, registration no. 173730.

The Financial Fixed Odds update from David Evans, Market Analyst, BetOnMarkets.

Gold broke through to a record new high yesterday. Although if you are trading the gold market then note that the precious metal has a history of struggling to keep the momentum up in the short term at these points.

It is interesting to note that each time gold breaks through previous highs, there is usually at least one pull back over the next couple of weeks. This pullback is usually short lived though, more a pause for breath before shooting higher.

Which stock market has dropped the most this year?

As the fears over the Greek/ PIIGS bailout at least temporarily subside, world stock markets are starting to rally again. However, not all rallies have been equal. Some stock markets fell much further than others.

The France 40 (CAC) is currently the worst performer this year, having fallen hard and recovered slowly. It was revealed that French banks had a huge exposure to Greece and this is a big factor in the poor performance of the CAC this year.

Given the turmoil surrounding the general election, it is perhaps unsurprising that the FTSE 100 has also performed poorly. However, an equally significant factor has been the plunge in the share price of BP, the FTSE’s largest share by market cap.

Of most surprise is that the German Dax heads the tables as the best performing market since the 2010 peak, ie it has dropped the least since mid-April.

One reason is that the weak euro has been helping German exports and boosting the overseas earnings of major German companies such as Siemens and BMW.

Forex update

Forex markets have been relatively quiet this morning as the sovereign debt crisis comes off the boil and into a (temporary) simmer.

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