Greater London, England -- (SBWire) -- 04/29/2011 -- Spread betting provider City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/) takes a look at the financial activity shaping the markets on 18th April 2011.

Share prices for telecommunications companies in Japan fell following Goldman Sachs announcing a ratings cut, which resulted in the Nikkei 225 being weighed down.

Such is the assertion of Reuters, which noted that the report from the organisation highlighted how NTT might struggle to assess the impact of the March 11th earthquake for its earnings estimate for the fiscal year.

As a result, it traded down by 0.7 per cent, while a 2.4 per cent share prices decline was experienced by Softbank after Goldman Sachs switched its 'sell' to 'neutral', the news resource added.

The Nikkei 225 retreated today (April 18th) by 0.36 per cent to end trading on 9,556.65 points. Meanwhile, the Nikkei 500 fell by 1.76 points and the Nikkei 300 by 1.02 points.

As of 07:18 BST, the Hang Seng Index was trading down by 0.33 per cent, with HSBC taking a ten-point hit, along with PetroChina.

Start spread betting with City Index at http://www.cityindex.co.uk/spread-betting/

Spread betting and CFDs are leveraged products which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks.

About City Index
Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, CFD trading and, in the UK, financial spread betting.

We constantly look to widen the range of assets we offer, improve the performance of our platforms and expand the range of services we provide. The result is that our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer service and support. Visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/ for more information.

*Spread betting and CFD trading are exempt from UK stamp duty. Spread betting is also exempt from UK Capital Gains Tax. However, tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Please seek independent advice if necessary.