THE TIPSTER
THE hawks have been circling over Mitchells & Butlers, seeing them as a potential takeover target, but the bid was so low that it was rejected without much thought. After a large spike in the price mid-September, the excitement of potential offers has worn off Mitchells and Butlers’s shareholders and the price of the share has gradually come back down to pre-takeover talk levels. A few spread betters have bought into the weakness hoping for a more realistic offer in the future. So will tomorrow’s earning release get share holders back in the pub celebrating? Capital Spreads quotes a price of 221.9p-223.7p.
The FTSE retreated back last week to the strong support level that sits at the top of the former channel it traded in during August and September. Once again, buying around 5,350-70 with a stop loss of just 5,320 was a good strategy, as the FTSE 100 rallied towards 5,420 at one point. The FTSE closed Friday around 5,370, but the strategy may be starting to look a little shaky and vulnerable to breaking down, so tread with caution this week. Spread Co offer a spread on the UK100 of 5,356.3-5,357.1.
Mining stocks have had a rough time of it this year, with fears of a Chinese slowdown causing a roller coaster of a year in the sector. Antofagasta releases its quarterly report on Thursday, and traders will be looking to see whether the workforce strikes that hindered the company earlier this year have hit the mining group’s performance. IG Index quotes a price of 1,076p-1,077p for Antofagasta.