London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/02/2011 -- "Rising tensions in Egypt set the tone for the FTSE as an early drift lower saw the UK index slide over 1%. Travel firms with exposure in the region were worst hit while Banks also came under pressure. Investors seemed spooked by the scale of the protests and the increasing uncertainty over the leadership in Egypt.

Energy firms benefitted from rising commodity prices with oils stocks managing to help the FTSE recover losses. As the day progressed the index traded back to par as UK banks Lloyds and RBS recovered and BG Group led the charge as the Oil giant recovered much of Friday’s losses. Miners too contributed positively with XTA and Petrofac all featuring on the leader board.

US shares opened positively as merger chat and solid numbers from Exxon Mobile managed to offset investor concerns over Egypt. Investors were also heartened by solid US consumer spending figures confirming the sixth straight month gains as households delved into their pockets over the Christmas period. Much of the data was as expected and combined with the solid GDP numbers released last week, investors could be forgiven for thinking everything is rosy across the water. Savvy investors however will be concentrating on the all important non-farm numbers on Friday. Despite healthy GDP growth, the unemployment rate remains alarmingly high in the US and investors will want to see more progress in this area before believing that the US is fully on the road to recovery."

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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, contracts for differences (CFDs) and, in the UK, spread betting.

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