A brief look at last week and the week ahead, the Weekly Review from IG Index.
Weekly Trading Report 15 February 2010 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
The FTSE appeared to have a week of steady gains, adding between 0.38% and 0.62% every day to Thursday, but it was in fact a volatile few days for the index.
Early in the week extreme weather conditions were blamed for a January drop in UK housing market activity, and an annual 0.7% slide in like-for-like retail sales.
More positively, manufacturing output figures on Tuesday showed a 0.9% month-on-month rise in December, which was ahead of projections, possibly signalling that the UK’s initial 0.1% final-quarter GDP growth estimate could be upgraded. Mervyn King swiftly reined in any heady predictions though, forecasting a ‘gradual’ recovery.
On Tuesday Greece’s government proposed drastic steps to reverse the country’s 12.7% budget deficit, causing international markets to stutter.
By Thursday, however, EU leaders had promised ‘determined and coordinated action’ to ease the country’s finance woes, reassuring markets somewhat.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s recovery halted, as fourth-quarter GDP remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter.
Despite positive export data over the last four months of 2009, German exports for the year fell by 18.4%, the biggest drop since 1950.
France saw another period of modest growth, up 0.6% in the last quarter, while the Spanish economy shrank by 0.1%.
In the US, chairman Ben Bernanke outlined the Fed’s proposed stimulus withdrawal strategy on Wednesday, giving a detailed description of the plan, but suggesting that changes are still months away.
Also on Wednesday, data showed the US trade deficit rose by a significant 10% to $40.2 billion in December.
Earlier in the week, Coca-Cola reported a 17% rise in profit for the year, with global sales up 5% in the fourth quarter.
The Dow Jones meanwhile dropped 1% on Monday, slipping back to 9908, but recovered sharply on Tuesday and through the week, to close up at 10144 on Thursday.
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Weekly Trading Report 15 February 2010 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
A national holiday in the US kicks off what looks to be a fairly quiet economic week on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, there are a handful of items to watch out for, including the latest UK inflation data on Tuesday, the minutes from the MPC meeting held early this month are released on Wednesday and preliminary lending figures are out on Thursday.
January’s CPI figures, which are released in the US on Friday, will provide a snapshot of current levels of inflation stateside.
Company Results and Reports
A number of big name companies from a range of sectors are reporting this week.
Major retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and Wal-Mart report on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, while Kraft also releases its figures on Tuesday.
In the UK, BAE Systems announce full-year results on Thursday and mining firm Anglo American reports on Friday.
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- Live Prices, Charts, Indices, Equities, Commodities, Forex and more >> read the
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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 15 February 2010', Review by D. Jones, last update: 15-Feb-10
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