Greater London, England -- (SBWire) -- 12/03/2010 -- Financial spread betting expert Joshua Raymond, Market Strategist at City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk), delivers his market update for 25th November:
“The FTSE 100 posted gains of 0.3% on Thursday led by gains in property firms such as Capital Shopping Centres after the company announced bid interest from US peer Simon Group.
The euro however remained under pressure with investors still anxious over the Irish debt situation and unconvinced by the recently announced €15bn spending cut plan, whilst there remains nervous fears over some of the periphery nations within the Euro zone that are also struggling with debt obligations such as Spain or Portugal.
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US, meaning that US markets are closed and so the afternoon session in Europe could be rather uninspiring with a lack of drivers to dictate Index moves. I wouldn’t bet against tomorrow’s session being just as quiet either with only a half days session in the US and many US traders getting away early for the weekend.
Much of the little dose of excitement to today’s equity markets has come from Capital Shopping Centres, whose share prices have surged near 10% on news that the property investor had received a potential offer form shareholder Simon Group. Whether any deal could happen remains to be seen, particularly as the firm have ignored advice from Simon Group to not push ahead with its £1.6bn deal to buy the Trafford Centre in Manchester. The news has however heightened optimism of consolidation within the sector and other property firms have rallied on the back of this such as Hammerson and British Land.
Euro remains under the microscope
The euro woes continued today with the EU’s single currency falling against the US dollar. In truth the weakness against the US currency was minimal, and the currency managed to claw back 10 pips against the pound sterling. That said, with the Euro having fallen 1.5% against the pound and 3.5% against the dollar since last Friday and no sign of bargain hunting yet, it seems traders are lacking any buying conviction in the Euro at present with so much concern over sovereign debt.
Traders are not overly convinced that the recently announced Irish spending cuts will work or that their growth forecasts are achievable. Moreover, the Irish situation brings into focus the fragility of the Euro zone area and in particular the other debt laden countries are equally struggling such as Spain and Portugal.”
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Financial Spread Betting: FTSE Posts Gains on Property Stocks – Euro Pain Continues
Market analysis is a significant part of spread betting, which is why the experts at financial spread betting provider City Index give traders daily updates on financial market activity. Here, Market Strategist Joshua Raymond casts his eye over EU developments for 25th November.