Greg Secker – U.K. Market update brought to you by Traders University

UK Stock Market Report 25th February 2011

UK markets closed lower yesterday, with the FTSE 100 index declining for the fifth  consecutive session, as disappointing corporate earnings reports and escalating violence in Libya sent crude oil prices to the highest level since late August 2008, raising concerns over the economic growth. Among banks, Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC, dropped between 0.3% and 2.0%, as risk aversion increased among investors, while Royal Bank of Scotland sank 3.6%, after the company reported a worse-than-expected annual net loss of £1.13 billion. Travel stocks, International Consolidated Airlines Group, TUI Travel and Easyjet, lost between 0.2% and 3.5%, as crude oil price touched a multi-year intraday high. However, losses were restricted by gains in some oil producers and miners. FTSE 100 declined 0.1% or 3.6 points to 5,920.0. FTSE 250 fell 0.1% or 112.2 points to 11,409.7.

UK Stock Market Report 3rd of August 2010

The FTSE 100 rose 139.09 points or 2.65% yesterday

Last month, in the UK, US and Eurozone manufacturing output continued to grow, even as China saw its first contraction in 16 months following a clampdown by the government on property speculation and tighter credit controls. A slowdown in export orders pulled the CIPS/Market UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) down by 30 basis points to 57.3 in July beating City forecasts of a drop to 57.0. Although the index remains comfortably above the 50 mark, the surging recovery seen until now is unlikely to be sustained, analysts said. Across the Atlantic, the US Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge fell from 56.2 to 55.5 last month. The drop followed a downward movement in broader US economic growth from 3.7 per cent in the first quarter to 2.4 per cent in Q2. Yesterday, sterling rose to a six-month high of $1.59 against the dollar in London, a rise of 2.36 cents, as investors bet growth in the UK would outpace that in the US which many economists fear is only months from slipping back into recession. The pound climbed to its strongest in nearly a month against the euro. The pound was also boosted by HSBC which yesterday reported a 121 per cent pre-tax profit rise to $11.1bn (£6.98bn) for the first six months of the year, providing evidence of a healthy banking sector – a key contributor to the UK economy.

Due of release today is the GBP Construction PMI.

UK Stock Market Report 28th July 2010

The FTSE 100  index closed up 14.55 points at 5,365.67
A leading think-tank will say today Britain will avoid sinking into a double-dip recession and its economy will be expanding at trend growth rates as early as 2012, adding to the increasingly rosier outlook for the UK and defusing fears of further economic contraction. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research in its latest forecast for the UK economy predicts GDP growth of 1.3 per cent this year, 1.7 per cent next year and acceleration to 2.2 per cent in 2012. Strong economic data over the past week, culminating in an extremely positive retail sales report from the CBI, yesterday pushed the pound to a five-month high of $1.5585. The CBI said that a net 33 per cent of retailers were reporting rising rather than falling sales compared to last July and are even more optimistic about the prospects for August. The survey boosted analysts’ hopes that the UK can achieve further decent growth in the third quarter.
New figures suggested taxpayers will shell out up to £1bn extra over the next 30 years to pay for PFI projects, while the state struggles to reverse a decline in productivity bringing public spending under fresh scrutiny yesterday. The running costs of Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) agreed during the credit crisis will be between £500m and £1bn, said the National Audit Office (NAO), though it said the schemes represented good value for money for boosting the economy.

Due for release today
GBP BOE Gov King Speaks                        9.30am
USD Core Durable Goods Orders m/m    1.30pm
NZD Official Cash Rate                         10.00pm
NZD RBNZ Rate Statement                     10.00pm

UK Stock Market Report 13th July 2010

The FTSE 100 is currently up 34.08 point at 5,167.02.

Yesterday, George Osborne’s bid to get the UK’s spiralling Budget deficit under control was dealt a blow as Standard & Poor’s (S&P) warned Britain remains at risk of losing its triple-A rating. The credit rating agency said it was keeping its negative outlook on the UK’s debt despite Osborne’s austerity Budget, it also warned the economy was unlikely to grow at the pace forecast by the OBR. “Standard & Poor’s medium-term economic forecasts for the UK are less optimistic than the assumptions underlying the Budget. We therefore believe there is still a material risk that the UK’s net general government debt burden may approach a level incompatible with the ‘AAA’ rating,” S&P said in a statement. In the minutes immediately after the announcement the pound fell to $1.5017 as the credit rating agency’s move triggered fears over the coalition government’s grip on the economy.  After a week of taking office, Osborne announced £6bn of emergency spending cuts.

Due for release today is the GBP CPI y/y/, EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment, CAD Trade Balance, USD Trade Balance, NZD Retail Sales m/m and RBA Gov Stevens Speaks.