Weekly Trading Report 31 January 2011 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
Analysts were shocked on Tuesday after the ONS revealed an unexpected 0.5% contraction in the UK economy, despite forecasted growth. The winter freeze played a part, hitting construction, service and retail sectors hard. Even accounting for the weather, activity was flattish, prompting growth concerns as austerity cuts and rising inflation take hold.
The slowdown seemed to substantiate the MPC’s decision to keep interest rates low, although January’s meeting minutes revealed the vote is now split seven-to-two. Mervyn King warned consumers of a ‘choppy’ recovery as take-home pay is likely to fall, while Friday’s GfK report showed UK consumer confidence plummeted by its largest amount since 1992.
It proved a worrying week for UK banks as the ICB suggested separating retail and investment banking operations to boost financial stability and competition. Meanwhile Vedanta and Kazakhmys posted well-received updates on Thursday, with Randgold and Fresnillo also performing strongly, only for miners to give back gains on Friday, deflated by a weak performance from Asian markets.
BSkyB released a soaring 26% profit on Thursday, putting pressure on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to seal a takeover bid. Jeremy Hunt gave News Corp time to address concerns over ‘threats to media plurality’ before referring the deal.
This week saw a stellar performance across the pond as the Dow Jones traded above the psychological 12,000 mark and Q4 GDP accelerated to 3.2%. Equities received a boost following strong earnings reports from McDonald’s, Yahoo and Microsoft though this was balanced by surprising underperformance from Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday, then Amazon and Procter & Gamble on Thursday.
Elsewhere in the online spread betting markets, back in Europe with the World Economic Forum underway, PwC released a survey on Monday demonstrating business confidence is returning to pre-economic crisis levels. Respondents predicted a broad recovery for the global economy during 2011, with the IMF forecasting faster growth than previously expected.
IG Index
- Live Prices, Charts, Indices, Equities, Commodities, Forex and more >> read the
IG Index Review.
Weekly Trading Report 31 January 2011 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
It’s a relatively quiet week for key indicators at home, but keep an eye on official UK mortgage approvals figures on Tuesday. The latest snapshot of the UK economy will be under scrutiny through the week, with manufacturing data on Tuesday, followed by construction midweek and the services index on Thursday.
Across the Atlantic unemployment provides the main focus, with the Challenger job cuts report on Wednesday, and the all-important non-farm payrolls closing the week.
Company Results and Reports
It’s a busy earnings schedule for several UK blue-chips, with BP, ARM Holdings and Autonomy Corp releasing full-year results on Tuesday, and further sets of annual figures following on Friday from GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever.
Across the pond the US earnings season continues, with notable quarterlies early in the week from Exxon Mobil and Pfizer, before Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp report on Wednesday. Visa and MasterCard go head-to-head on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
The above content does not constitute investment advice. Neither Online-Spread-Betting.com nor IG Index accepts any responsibility for any use that may be made of the above.
Remember that financial spread betting is a leveraged product and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit. Spread betting may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.
IG Index
- Live Prices, Charts, Indices, Equities, Commodities, Forex and more >> read the
IG Index Review.
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 31 January 2011', Review by D. Jones, last update: 31-Jan-11
Related articles:
Online Spread Betting, 6-Jun-11,
Online Spread Betting News: Highlights of last week's spread betting markets and a look at the factors that will influence the week ahead plus company releases, economic news and...see: Online Spread Betting
Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011, 4-Apr-11,
Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011: Construction firms were on the rise, with building supplies firm Wolseley returning to profit in the first half of the year and house builder Bellway reporting profit up...see: Financial Spread Betting 4 April 2011
Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011, 21-Mar-11,
Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011: On Thursday the Japanese yen reached ¥76.25 against the US dollar, its highest level since the end of World War II. The BoJ continued to pour in further funds to stabilise...see: Financial Spread Betting 21 March 2011
Looking to improve your trading results? Get free trading tips and trading analysis as well as the latest trading offers »
Trading News.
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.
Disclaimer:
Online-Spread-Betting.com does not endorse the information and
analysis available on this site. It is provided purely for information
purposes and is delivered as a personal view of the writer. Under no circumstances
is the information hereon to be used or considered as, an offer to sell, or a
solicitation of any offer to buy. The website content does not constitute investment
advice and neither the individual contributor nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accepts any
responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.
* Tax Free Trading:
Tax law is subject to change. It may also differ if you pay tax in a jurisdiction outside the UK.
