Weekly Trading Report 7 February 2011 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
Positive economic data last week boosted the FTSE back over the 6000 mark, though gains were kept in check by continued unrest in Egypt.
UK manufacturing, construction and services PMI figures all showed robust growth with readings of 62, 53.7 and 54.5 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Such numbers provide evidence of a strong start to the year following the disappointing Q4 GDP report and, coupled with inflation concerns, increases pressure on the BoE to raise interest rates as early as this week. Manufacturing activity was also strong in the US, with the ISM index rising to 60.8 on Tuesday.
Employment was the main focus across the Atlantic, as private companies added 187,000 jobs in January according to Wednesday’s ADP survey, while Friday’s non-farm payrolls grew by a much weaker-than-anticipated 36,000.
Positive sentiment earlier in the week pushed US markets to two-and-a-half year highs, with the Dow Jones and S&P closing above 12,000 and 1300 respectively on Tuesday.
Further growth was stunted, however, due to violent clashes between protestors in Cairo, prompting fears of the crisis spreading throughout the Middle East.
Brent crude futures for March jumped to $102.34 on Thursday, over concerns that the Suez Canal could be affected - also see UK Oil Spread Betting.
Oil was also in the spotlight on the company calendar with Exxon Mobil reporting a 52% increase in year-on-year Q4 profit on Monday. UK giant BP revealed a $4.9 billion annual loss after oil spill costs on Tuesday, while Shell also missed estimates on Thursday with fourth-quarter earnings $0.6 billion behind forecasts.
ARM Holdings and Unilever fared better, with the former unveiling a 73% Q4 profit compared to a year earlier, and the latter reporting a full-year profit of $8.4 billion. In the US, television income at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp helped profit jump $642 million in the last quarter, up 150% from a year earlier.
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Weekly Trading Report 7 February 2011 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
The UK economic week kicks off with December trade balance figures on Wednesday and the BoE’s latest interest rates announcement on Thursday.
December industrial and manufacturing data is also expected on Thursday, followed by January’s PPI to close the week.
In the US look out for weekly employment data on Thursday, followed by the December trade balance and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey on Friday.
Company Results and Reports
There are some big names reporting on both sides of the Atlantic this week.
In the UK on Thursday, Rio Tinto and Rolls-Royce release full-year figures, while beverages peers Diageo and SABMiller publish interim and fourth-quarter results respectively.
Across the pond, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo go head-to-head with Q4 figures on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, while Kraft reports its fourth quarter 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 7 February 2011', Review by D. Jones, last update: 7-Feb-11
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