A brief look at last week and the week ahead, the Weekly Review from IG Index.
Weekly Trading Report 26 July 2010 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
It was a sluggish start for the FTSE on Monday, with focus on the bond and forex markets as traders woke to news that Moody’s had downgraded Ireland’s sovereign debt rating.
This was followed by a dramatic 20% tumble in Cable & Wireless’ share price, as the company warned that full-year profits were likely to come in below expectations.
The FTSE 100, however, finally found its feet midweek, as stronger metal prices helped mining firms make substantial gains.
There was also an upswing for beleaguered BP following an agreed $7 billion asset sale to fund a cleanup operation in the Gulf of Mexico.
Over in the US, we are in the midst of earnings season, and IBM kicked things off on Tuesday with disappointing second-quarter figures, coming in at $23.7 billion, rather than the expected $24.2 billion. However, rivals Apple and Microsoft posted record quarterly results on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
Elsewhere, banking giant Goldman Sachs revealed underwhelming second-quarter profits of $813 million, down from $3.44 billion for the same period last year.
Wednesday saw analysts’ initial excitement ahead of Ben Bernanke’s congressional address dampened when the Fed chairman chose not to disclose details of any further stimulus measures to prop up the US economy, despite saying that the economic outlook was ‘unusually uncertain’.
However, negative sentiment was short lived and the markets bounced back on Thursday as positive manufacturing data in the US also helped European markets.
In the UK the FTSE 100 pushed out to the 5300 level following news that car production was up in June and retail sales beat expectations during this year’s World Cup. Friday saw even more positive data, with news that the UK economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter of this year.
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Weekly Trading Report 26 July 2010 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
In macroeconomic news we have consumer confidence figures from Europe, the US and the UK towards the end of the week.
Thursday also sees the release of the Fed’s Beige Book, which many will use to gauge the health of the US economy ahead of the FOMC meeting in August.
Company Results and Reports
In the UK, watch out for quarterly figures from troubled oil giant BP on Tuesday, followed by full-year results from British Airways on Thursday, with analysts keen to see how both have performed during recent controversy.
Others to watch out for include second-quarter figures from Kazakhmys and full-year results from BSkyB.
Across the pond, earnings season continues at pace, so look out for quarterlies from soft-drinks giants Coca Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, credit company Visa and Boeing.
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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 26 July 2010', Review by D. Jones, last update: 26-Jul-10
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