Spread Betting Markets Snapshot

• FTSE 100 jumped 1.2% to close at 5,484.1.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index added 1.0% or 9.9 points to 971.7.
• DJIA surged 1.5% to settle at 11,836.0. NASDAQ gained 1.3% to close at 2,640.0. S&P 500 jumped 1.6% to end at 1, 237.9.
• Markets in Japan are closed on account of a public holiday.
• In Asia, crude oil for December delivery is trading 1.1% or 97 cents lower at $91.54 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5909, marginally lower against the EUR at €1.1617, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥124.16.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Betting Markets

• UK markets closed higher yesterday, as market sentiments were lifted on encouraging US jobs data and ahead of the G-20 summit in France to tackle the Eurozone debt crisis.
• Among precious metal miners, Fresnillo, the top gainer on the FTSE 100 index, surged 7.7%, as silver and gold prices rallied, while Randgold Resources gained 7.4%, as it reported a rise in its third-quarter profit.
• Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys gained between 2.5% and 5.2%, as base metal prices firmed up.
• Antofagasta rallied 5.4%, after reporting a 17.0% jump in its copper production.
• Retailer, Next jumped 6.5%, as it reported faster sales growth in the third quarter.
• ARM Holdings climbed 2.6%, after a broker upgraded its rating on the stock to “Outperform” from “Market Perform”.
• Wolseley advanced 5.4%, after data indicated that UK construction PMI rose in October.
• FTSE 100 rose 1.2% to 5,484.1. FTSE 250 climbed 0.8% to 10,251.7.
• Fresnillo soared 7.7%, in line with a rise in silver and gold prices.
• Randgold Resources rallied 7.4%, after the company forecasted a 22.0% increase in its gold production next year
• Next surged 6.5%, after the company reported faster sales growth in its third-quarter.
• Burberry Group soared 5.7%, after its European peer, Hugo Boss, reported a rise in its third-quarter profit.
• Miners, ENRC, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys, rallied between 5.6% and 5.2%, following higher base metal prices.
• Insurers, Legal & General and Old mutual, surged 4.8% and 4.7%, respectively, benefited from a recovery in the equity markets.
• Lloyds Banking Group fell 4.4%, after the company announced that its Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio would take a medical leave of absence.
• Standard Chartered eased 1.2%, after the company reported that its nine-month income grew by a high single-digit percentage from the same period a year ago.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread betting on UK shares.

Forex Spread Betting Markets

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.5909, marginally lower against the EUR at €1.1617, and 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥124.16.
• The EUR is trading marginally higher against the USD at $1.3695.
• The EUR is trading 0.1% lower against the JPY at ¥106.88, after the European leaders stated that Greece would vote next month to determine whether it would stay in the 17-nation currency. The EUR also depreciated amid speculation that the European Central Bank would lower borrowing costs to stem recession risks in the region.
• The USD is trading lower against major currencies, after the Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke hinted at additional stimulus measure to prop up the US economy if necessary, damping demand for the currency.
• The NZD is trading lower against the USD, following a statistics bureau report that showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 6.6% in the third-quarter from 6.5% in the previous period.
• Yesterday, the USD closed lower against the EUR. This came following reports that the next portion of Greece’s international bailout might be held up unless Greece provides clarity about its acceptance of the latest European bailout package, after the referendum Greek officials announced earlier this week.
• The CAD ended higher against the USD, after the Federal Reserve acknowledged that the US economic growth “strengthened somewhat” in the third quarter, raising demand for riskier assets.
• The CHF closed higher against the USD, amid concern that spending cuts agreed to by the US lawmakers would dampen the country’s economic growth.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread betting.

Commodities Spread Betting Markets

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.3% lower today, at $1,729.93 per ounce.
• Gold for December delivery added 1.0% or $17.80 to settle at $1,729.60 per ounce yesterday, as the dollar weakened against the major currencies, increasing the demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.
• Gold traded higher after the US Federal Reserve trimmed its growth expectations for the US economy and increased its unemployment rate forecast.
• In Asia, crude oil for December delivery is trading 1.1% or 97 cents lower at $91.54 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude for December delivery added 0.4% or 32 cents to end at $92.51 per barrel, amid expectations of increase in energy demand following encouraging US jobs data.
• Crude oil prices gained value as concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis eased on hopes that European leaders would push Greece to accept their bail-out plan. However gains were limited, after the US Energy Information Administration reported an increase in crude oil supplies by 1.8 million barrels for the week ended October 28.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.