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| UK 100 Leaders | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| BHP Billiton PLC | 898.5 | 15.7 | 1.8 | 18.2 |
| 3i Group PLC | 486.9 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| Next PLC | 5455 | 80.0 | 1.5 | -25.2 |
| Johnson Matthey PLC | 2867 | 42.0 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| Mediclinic International PLC | 966 | 14.0 | 1.5 | -12.8 |
| UK 100 Laggards | Close (p) | Chg (p) | % Chg | % YTD |
| Persimmon PLC | 1900 | -121.0 | -6.0 | -6.3 |
| Barratt Developments PLC | 522 | -20.5 | -3.8 | -16.6 |
| Berkeley Group Holdings (The) PLC | 2976 | -115.0 | -3.7 | -19.3 |
| Burberry Group PLC | 1296 | -49.0 | -3.6 | 8.5 |
| Standard Life PLC | 346.7 | -12.6 | -3.5 | -11.0 |
| Major World Indices | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| UK UK 100 | 6,365.1 | 2.2 | 0.03 | 2.0 |
| UK | 17,001.4 | -46.6 | -0.27 | -2.5 |
| FR CAC 40 | 4,511.5 | 21.2 | 0.47 | -2.7 |
| DE DAX 30 | 10,093.7 | 67.6 | 0.67 | -6.0 |
| US DJ Industrial Average 30 | 17,926.5 | 18.3 | 0.10 | 2.9 |
| US Nasdaq Composite | 4,945.9 | -1.5 | -0.03 | -1.2 |
| US S&P 500 | 2,082.8 | 0.4 | 0.02 | 1.9 |
| JP Nikkei 225 | 16,869.6 | -41.5 | -0.25 | -11.4 |
| HK Hang Seng Index 48 | 21,314.8 | -23.1 | -0.11 | -2.7 |
| AU S&P/ASX 200 | 5,146.8 | 28.2 | 0.55 | -2.8 |
| Commodities & FX | Mid/Close | Chg | % Chg | % YTD |
| Crude Oil, West Texas Int. ($/barrel) | 41.56 | -0.34 | -0.8 | 12.1 |
| Crude Oil, Brent ($/barrel) | 43.89 | -0.41 | -0.91 | 16.7 |
| Gold ($/oz) | 1231.75 | 0.75 | 0.06 | 16.1 |
| Silver ($/oz) | 16.21 | 0.02 | 0.11 | 17.2 |
| GBP/USD – US$ per £ | 1.42 | – | 0.08 | -4.0 |
| EUR/USD – US$ per € | 1.13 | – | -0.01 | 3.7 |
| GBP/EUR – € per £ | 1.26 | – | 0.1 | -7.4 |
Click graph to enlarge
UK 100 Index called to open flat at 6370. Daily RSI is still not yet overbought, but note the formation of a bearish rising wedge pattern that could see a break below recent rising support. See also an uptick in the gold price this morning indicating a little risk aversion. Bulls are still hopeful for positive macro data from China and confidence ahead of Sunday’s OPEC Doha meeting to make for a risk-on Friday, while bears are happy that the majority will shy away from placing bullish trades for now. Watch levels: Bullish 6387, Bearish 6330.
Friday’s flat opening call follows a similarly flat Asian session where China’s GDP print merely met expectations. Well, I am sorry! Chinese mainland markets are unchanged, while the Nikkei stopped going up following an earthquake that struck the south west of Japan yesterday..
The Aussie ASX is buoyed by an impressive late-in-the-day reversal in energy and materials, while financials have also added clout down under.
US bourses closed just above the waterline with financials outperforming for the 5th day in a row. Bank of America the biggest gainer despite a weak Q1 earnings report (note as expected). Good employment data also helped, with jobless claims the lowest since 1973, while the Fed’s Lockhart is not advocating an April rate hike (phew!). Oh, but April’s meeting should nonetheless be a live one (Eek!)
Crude prices continues to maintain position above $40 a barrel with market participants deciding that’s as far as they should go ahead of Sunday’s Doha meeting. Falling highs on both Brent and WTI since Wednesday though...
Gold is hauling its weight up off the $1225 level, indicating some safe haven seeking this morning while yesterday’s bearish hammer reversal candle on the USD Basket, coinciding with March falling highs, could see a short trade opportunity there - and a long one for Gold!
On the Macro front today we’ve got US Empire Manufacturing and Industrial Production data this afternoon, looking lacklustre but not bad. Happy Friday 🙂
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