Eerie calm on Wall Street as equities stall August 9, 2012 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 extended its rally to a fifth day yesterday, again eking out a tiny gain as lingering expectations for economic stimulus from central banks lent support to a market lacking new catalysts. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.45 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 13,165.19 at the close. But the [...]
Wall St almost flat as volumes remain down August 8, 2012 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 just barely extended a streak of gains to a fourth day yesterday, ending above 1,400 in another thinly traded session. Expectations for stimulus from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve triggered the recent gains, but investors found little reason to keep pushing stocks higher after driving the [...]
FTSE maintains its four-month high despite hit from ex-dividend stocks August 8, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue chip share index rose by just a few points yesterday, consolidating around a four-month peak as a slide in a batch of stocks trading without their dividend entitlements offset gains in banking and mining stocks. Fifteen blue chip stocks traded ex-dividend yesterday including heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell, BP, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Barclays knocking [...]
FTSE shrugs off Standard Chartered slump to reach a four-month high August 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 climbed to its highest close in four months yesterday, with heavyweight miners and energy stocks rallying on expectations of global economic stimulus and outweighing a steep sell off in Standard Chartered. The bank’s shares plunged 16.4 per cent in their biggest one-day sell off in four years after New York’s top bank [...]
S&P hits 1,400 on optimism over Europe August 7, 2012 U S stocks rose for a third straight day yesterday, pushing the S&P above 1,400 for the first time since early May, on growing optimism the European Central Bank (ECB) would act soon to contain the Eurozone’s debt crisis. Trading was light, which could distort the level of optimism investors truly have that Europe will [...]
FTSE climbs to 5,800 as investors bet on eventual ECB intervention August 6, 2012 CYCLICALS lifted Britain’s top shares above 5,800 points for the first time since May yesterday as investors bet on eventual European Central Bank action to curb high peripheral bond yields, although low volumes showed not everyone was convinced. The FTSE 100 extended gains from last week, helped by strong performances in mining and energy, although [...]
US stocks end at highest for three months August 6, 2012 US stocks closed at three-month highs for the second day in a row yesterday, extending last week’s rally on the hope for more assistance for the troubled Eurozone. The S&P 500 rose to its highest point since early May, but pared its gains going into the close. The benchmark index also failed to breach 1,400, [...]
Market drought offers little respite to traders August 6, 2012 YOU can almost see tumbleweed rolling down Threadneedle Street, as trading volumes drop over the summer months every year. But this year is different. We are not just seeing a drop in the short-term, but also in longer-term volumes. And these falls pose a risk for traders who don’t properly manage their risk exposures. “Traders [...]
SUCCESSFUL TRADERS DON’T PANIC WHEN THEY LOSE OUT August 6, 2012 FX360 TODAY I’ll wrap up a series of three articles, addressed to anyone considering trading for themselves. Last week, I wrote about money and risk management and the importance of creating a trading plan. Prior to that, I wrote about trading styles – is your lifestyle and temperament suited to day trading, or are you [...]
THE TIPSTER | Insuring against losses August 6, 2012 THE reorganisation of Aviva, the insurance giant, continues apace, as its new chief executive keeps to his plan of trimming the business down to a more manageable size. The disposal of divisions in eastern Europe reflects the determination of the new management to keep the company under firm control, and its recovery from June lows [...]