Spread Betting Market Review

• FTSE 100 gained 0.8% or 47.5 points to close at 5,856.3.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.9% to 1,104.4.
• DJIA edged up 0.6% or 75.42 points to close at 12,124.4. NASDAQ gained 0.4% or 9.5 points to 2,684.9. S&P 500 added 0.7% or 9.4 points to 1,289.0.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.8% higher, at 9,547.2.
• In Asia, crude oil for July delivery is trading 5 cents lower at $101.88 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% lower against the USD at $1.6363, 0.1% down against the EUR at €1.1257 and 0.4% weaker against the JPY at ¥131.03.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Betting Markets

• UK markets closed higher yesterday, helped by a pickup in merger & acquisition activity and gains in commodity stocks.
• Miners, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata, added between 1.3% and 1.5%, as copper prices managed to come off session lows.
• Oil producers, Tullow Oil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, gained between 1.3% and 1.9%, as oil prices climbed.
• Weir Group, up 4.8%, led the engineering sector higher, following a positive broker review, and after China fined two companies accused of manufacturing illegal replicas of Weir pumps.
• Burberry Group rose 2.4%, amid hopes of merger & acquisition activity in the luxury retail sector, following reports that Louis Vuitton could bid for Hermes International.
• Lookers was up 3.6%, after receiving a possible cash offer, while persistent speculation about a likely deal to spin off its pension fund benefited Invensys.
• FTSE 100 gained 0.8% or 47.5 points to close at 5,856.3. FTSE 250 added 0.3% or 40.7 points to 11,911.6.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread betting on UK shares.

Forex Spread Betting Markets

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% lower against the USD at $1.6363, 0.1% down against the EUR at €1.1257 and 0.4% weaker against the JPY at ¥131.03.
• The EUR is trading marginally lower against the USD at $1.4532.
• The EUR is trading 0.4% lower against the JPY at ¥116.37, as most Asian markets traded lower, decreasing the demand for the high yielding assets.
• The USD is trading lower against the JPY, as the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman, Janet Yellen, stated that the US housing market would endure a “long, drawn-out recovery”.
• Yesterday, the GBP fell against the USD, as the Bank of England kept its key lending rate at a record low level of 0.5%.
• The EUR eased against the USD, amid speculation that a possible July interest rate hike would not be a start of a series of rate hikes, after European Central Bank President, Jean-Claude Trichet, stated that inflationary pressures are expected to moderate in 2012.
• 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 $1542.47 per ounce.
• Gold prices for August delivery gained 0.3% or $4.00 to $1542.70 per ounce yesterday, as higher energy costs prompted investors to purchase the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.
• In Asia, crude oil for July delivery is trading 5 cents lower at $101.88 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude oil for July delivery closed 1.2% or $1.72 higher at $101.93 per barrel, amid supply concerns.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.