Archive for April, 2011

Sterling remained within a horizontal 20-cent range against the rand during the extended week. When London opened this morning it had logged a net loss of five cents, mainly as an unlucky coincidence of timing. In further forex trading news, South African inflation was up at 4.1%. Despite this no hike in rates is...
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Between Monday and Friday the GBP/USD rate climbed more than four cents from the low to the high of the week. Over the long bank holiday break it drifted more than a cent lower and it opened in London this morning a net two cents up on the extended week. It was a quiet few days...
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The FTSE 100, DAX and CAC all rose around 0.5% on Tuesday in somewhat reduced trading volumes as company earnings, better than expected macroeconomic data and positive sentiment all continued to support equity markets. Trading volumes are below average however and this is likely to exacerbate moves and make markets slightly more volatile. Today the...
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Sterling covered a range of two and a half cents during the week climbing two cents higher on Monday and spent the rest of the week in retreat. The low for GBP/AUD came as London opened this morning, at which point the pound was looking at a net half-cent loss. The Australian dollar’s main claims...
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The FTSE 100 Index enjoyed its best day for four and a half months as investors bought into heavyweight stocks bulled by some solid earnings across the pond and further gains in commodities such as Gold, which hit a new record high of $1500. It’s been a good news day with demand for stocks spread...
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Falling by more than -2% yesterday the FTSE 100 is trading higher today. The index fell to a low of 5858 almost reaching a key support level at the 5888 – 5832 zone. From a technical analysis point of view, interestingly, the price action suggests that a short term “Key Reversal” may be in place...
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European indices fell sharply on Monday as traders escaped risky investment classes such as stocks and sought safe haven assets such as the US dollar and gold as debt issues came to the forefront of trader minds. Sovereign debt problems surround Greece, where question marks remain over a potential debt restructuring, and Portugal, where...
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Equity day trading markets have been somewhat subdued today, albeit in positive territory, despite Chinese economic data coming in above expectations, with inflation and growth coming in higher than anticipated. The rise in inflation to 5.4% and Q1 growth to 9.7% suggests that the recent tightening measures taken by the Chinese authorities aren’t having as...
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As the forex markets expected, the Bank of England held rates at 0.5% which has seen the pound weaken a little while the European Central Bank also acted within expectations by raising interest rates by 0.25% to 1.25%. The biggest concern in the wake of the request for a bailout by the Portuguese government...
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In the forex markets, the pound was boosted this morning by a surprise rebound in services PMI data for March coming in at a 13 month high of 57.1, well above expectations of 52.6. While it provides a timely boost to perceptions about Q1 growth it appears unlikely to give too much leeway to...
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