Spread Bets Market Snapshot

• FTSE 100 gained 0.8% or 44.5 points to 5,766.9.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.6% to 1,080.8.
• DJIA edged up 1.2 % or 145.1 points to settle at 12,188.7. NASDAQ advanced 1.5% or 41.0 points to close at 2,729.3. S&P 500 gained 1.3% or 16.6 points to 1,296.7.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.2% higher, at 9,761.3.
• In Asia, crude oil for August delivery is trading 3 cents lower at $92.86 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5993, 0.1% higher against the EUR at €1.1145 and slightly lower against the JPY at ¥129.554.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Bets Market

• UK markets closed higher yesterday, with the FTSE 100 index rising for the third consecutive session, as hopes that Greece would approve austerity measures boosted market sentiments.
• Banks, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and HSBC, climbed between 0.3% and 4.2%, as risk appetite returned among investors. Standard Chartered was also benefited by its upbeat trading update.
• Miners, Vedanta Resources, ENRC and BHP Billiton, gained between 1.3% and 3.5%, as base metal prices rose.
• Oil producers, Cairn Energy, BP and BG Group, also paced gains, on the back of a rebound in crude oil prices.
• Utility stocks, Severn Trent and United Utilities, advanced 2.3% and 0.9% respectively, as Evolution Securities took a positive stance on these stocks, following a bid move for their peer, Northumbrian Water Group.
• FTSE 100 gained 0.8% or 44.5 points to 5,766.9. FTSE 250 added 0.5% or 57.3 points to 11,606.4.
• Smiths Group gained 3.8%, after the company stated that it was taking a more active approach to managing its divisions.
• Vedanta Resources and Cairn Energy climbed 3.5% and 3.0% respectively, helped by late news on Monday that they had made progress in the plan for Cairn to sell a stake in its Cairn India unit to Vedanta. The stocks were also benefited by higher commodity prices.
• Miners, Kazakhmys and Anglo American, advanced 2.9% and 2.6% respectively, as copper for September delivery added 1% to $4.11 per pound.
• Standard Chartered gained 2.7%, after the company stated that it expects to report double-digit growth in pre-tax profit in the first half of 2011.
• Prudential rose 2.6%, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Neutral”.
• Tate & Lyle lost 1.8%, after RBS downgraded the stock to “Hold” from “Buy”.
• BT Group dropped 1.7%, after its peer, Cable & Wireless issued another profit warning which prompted Chief Executive Jim Marsh to resign.
• Diageo fell 0.9%, after Citigroup removed the stock from its “Buy” list.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread betting on UK shares.

Forex Spread Bets Market

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5993, 0.1% higher against the EUR at €1.1145 and slightly lower against the JPY at ¥129.554.
• The EUR is trading 0.1% lower against the USD at $1.4351, amid protests in the streets of Athens, ahead of Greece’s parliament votes on an austerity package needed to avoid debt crisis.
• The EUR is trading 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥116.25. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported that Japanese industrial output rose a seasonally adjusted 5.7% in May from the previous month.
• The AUD is trading lower against the USD, as the number of jobs available in newspapers for skilled workers in Australia fell 2% in June from a month earlier.
• Yesterday, the GBP ended lower against the EUR, on speculation that the Bank of England might resort to more monetary stimulus. The GBP also weighed down after a report showed that UK economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter on quarter-on-quarter basis, while annual growth was revised to 1.6% from 1.8%.
• The EUR ended higher against the USD, amid expectations that Greece would pass austerity program to avert debt crisis. The EUR also rose, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet hinted at further interest-rate hikes.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread betting.

Commodities Spread Bets Market

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.1% higher today, at $1504.6 per ounce.
• Gold prices for August delivery added 0.3% or $3.80 to $1,500.20 per ounce yesterday, as the dollar weakened against the major currencies, increasing the demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.
• In Asia, crude oil for August delivery is trading 3 cents lower at $92.86 per barrel.
• The American Petroleum Institute reported that US crude oil stockpiles slipped by 2.7 million barrels to 360.3 million.
• Yesterday, crude oil for August delivery closed 2.5% or $2.28 higher at $92.89 per barrel, on optimism that Greece would approve austerity measures. Positive US housing data also lifted the investor sentiment.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.