Spread Betting Markets Snapshot

• FTSE 100 dipped 0.5% or 29.7 points to settle at 5,436.7.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index slipped 1.0% or 9.5 points to 966.0.
• DJIA plunged 2.1% or 247.5 points to close at 11,397.0. NASDAQ shed 2.0% or 52.9 points to settle at 2,614.9. S&P 500 lost 1.9% or 23.7 points to end at 1,200.9.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.7% lower, at 8,731.1.
• In Asia, crude oil for November delivery is trading 8 cents lower at $86.30 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.3% higher against the USD at $1.57882, 0.1% up against the EUR at €1.1467 and 0.2% higher against the JPY at ¥ 121.28.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Betting Markets

• UK markets finished lower yesterday, paring early gains, after Germany damped expectations for a complete solution to the eurozone debt crisis at the forthcoming European Union summit.
• Security services contractor, G4S, the top laggard on the FTSE 100 index, slumped 22.1%, after it agreed to acquire Danish facilities services provider ISS.
• Among mining stocks, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Antofagasta declined between 1.3% and 3.6%, as base metal prices fell.
• Financial stocks, Legal & General, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking declined between 0.6% and 2.5%, as worries about the eurozone debt contagion increased.
• Fund manager, Schroders dropped 1.3%, after UBS downgraded the stock to “Neutral” from “Buy”.
• Oil industry services group, AMEC, firmed up by 1.7%, after it bagged a contract worth £150 million.
• FTSE 100 dipped 0.5% or 29.7 points to settle at 5,436.7, while FTSE 250 retreated 0.9% or 88.1 points to close at 10,250.4.
• G4S slipped 22.1%, after the company agreed to buy the Danish outsourcing service provider ISS in a £5.2 billion deal.
• Miners, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys lost 3.6% and 3.1%, respectively, as copper for December delivery fell 0.9% to $3.38 per pound.
• Tullow Oil dropped 3.4%, as crude oil for November delivery declined 0.5% to $86.38 per barrel.
• BP advanced 2.2%, after the company reached an agreement to receive $4 billion from Anadarko Petroleum to settle all claims between the companies related to the Deepwater Horizon accident.
• Man Group rose 2.0%, as Numis Securities reiterated its “Buy” advice on the stock.
• AMEC gained 1.7%, after the company won a £150-million engineering contract from BP to develop two oil rigs in the North Sea.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread betting on UK shares.

Foreign Exchange Spread Betting Markets

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.3% higher against the USD at $1.57882, 0.1% up against the EUR at €1.1467 and 0.2% higher against the JPY at ¥ 121.28.
• The EUR is trading 0.2% higher against the USD at $1.37691.
• The EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the JPY at ¥105.741.
• The JPY is trading lower against most currencies amid speculation that housing starts in the US rose in September.
• The NZD is trading higher against the USD, after New Zealand’s central bank indicated that interest rates would probably need to be increased.
• Yesterday, the GBP ended lower against the USD, after Ernst & Young LLP’s ITEM Club cut its UK growth forecast and stated that the Bank of England should lower its main interest rate.
• The EUR ended lower against the USD, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel dampened hopes that European leaders would arrive at a complete fix to the eurozone debt crisis at their next meeting, decreasing the demand for high yielding assets.
• The EUR also closed lower against the USD, after a report showed that US Industrial production rose 0.2% in September.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread betting.

Commodities Spread Betting Markets

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.1% lower today, at $1,672.11 per ounce.
• Gold prices for December delivery fell 0.4% or $6.40 to $1,676.60 per ounce yesterday. This came as the dollar rose against the major currencies, decreasing the demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.
• In Asia, crude oil for November delivery is trading 8 cents lower at $86.30 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude oil for November delivery closed 0.5% or 42 cents lower at $86.38 per barrel, amid worries over demand prospects. This came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned investors that European leaders are unlikely to provide a complete solution to the eurozone debt crisis.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.