A brief look at last week and the week ahead, the Weekly Review from IG Index.
Weekly Trading Report 12 April 2010 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
The FTSE opened to a flying start after the Easter break, hitting a 21-month high of 5780.35 on Tuesday.
Since then it has retreated slightly, with a 0.9% fall on Thursday largely recouped by Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday the BCC said that the UK had avoided a double-dip recession in the first quarter of 2010, accompanying this with a warning that the recovery remains weak.
House prices also saw a mild bounce back, with Thursday’s Halifax survey showing a rise of 1.1% in March.
Meanwhile Marks & Spencer posted a better-than expected quarterly sales growth of 5.1% on Thursday, while on the same day BA agreed to merge with Iberia, creating one of the world’s biggest airlines.
On Thursday the Bank of England predictably held UK interest rates at 0.5% again, while the ONS reported that UK manufacturing rose by 1.33% month-on-month in February.
The Euro fell sharply against the Dollar on Tuesday amid rumours that Greece has tried to renegotiate the terms of a Eurozone rescue plan.
The bleak news for Europe continued on Wednesday, after the EU revised the Eurozone’s growth figures for the fourth quarter down to zero, while also revealing that retail spending fell again in February.
In the US, the ISM revealed on Monday that the services sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly four years in March.
Growing confidence in the economy shined through in the Dollar’s growing strength against Sterling and the Euro, at 65.7 pence and 74.8 Euro cents on Tuesday.
Light crude oil, in turn, hit a fresh 18-month high of $87.09 a barrel on Tuesday. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke did however stress that the US housing and job markets remain weak.
On Wednesday, US car giant General Motors reported a $4.3bn (£2.8bn) loss for July to December last year, the six-month period following its bankruptcy and major restructure.
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Weekly Trading Report 12 April 2010 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
The latest trade balance figures provide the highlight in a quiet week on the UK’s economic calendar.
In contrast, the US sees a much busier schedule, including Monday’s Budget statement, plus trade balance, inflation, retail sales and industrial production data through the week.
On Wednesday all eyes will focus on the Fed’s Beige Book.
Company Results and Reports
It’s also a relatively slow week for company announcements at home, but look out for retailers Debenhams and JD Sports unveiling half-year and full-year results respectively.
Meanwhile the US roster sees some stellar names reporting for Q1, starting off on Monday with Alcoa, followed by Intel on Tuesday, JP Morgan Chase midweek and internet giant Google on Thursday.
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For previous weeks see below.
Note - 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.
'Financial Spread Betting 12 April 2010', Review by D. Jones, last update: 12-Apr-10
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