Spread Betting Markets Snapshot

• FTSE 100 declined 0.6% to close at 5,668.5.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index declined 0.6% or 6.5 points to settle at 1,021.5.
• DJIA edged up 0.2% to close at 12,418.4. NASDAQ slid marginally to settle at 2,648.4. S&P 500 gained marginally to settle at 1,277.3.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.7% lower, at 8,499.7.
• In Asia, crude oil for February delivery is trading 0.2% or 17 cents lower at $103.05 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading marginally lower against the USD at $1.5608, marginally higher against the EUR at €1.2072, and marginally lower against the JPY at ¥119.76.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Betting Markets

• UK markets slipped yesterday, amid renewed concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis, as Italian lender UniCredit offered an unexpectedly large discount for its rights issue to raise new capital. In addition, Greece noted that it has only three months to make changes needed to avoid a default.
• Retailer, Next dropped 3.1%, after it reported “disappointing” trading figures for November and December.
• Peers, Tesco, Burberry Group and Marks & Spencer lost between 1.4% and 2.6%.
• Among miners, Glencore International, the top loser on the FTSE 100 index, declined 3.1%, while Anglo American, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta retreated between 1.0% and 2.8%, as base metal prices lost ground.
• BAE Systems declined 2.8%, after it stated that renegotiation of its Typhoon jet contract with Saudi Arabia might get delayed, impacting its 2011 earnings.
• FTSE 100 declined 0.6% to close at 5,668.5, while FTSE 250 lost 0.9% to end at 10,273.8.
• Utilities, United Utilities, SSE and Severn Trent, climbed between 0.5% and 1.5%, as investors preferred to invest in defensive stocks.
• Retailers, Next and Marks & Spencer fell 3.1% and 2.6%, respectively, after the former reported weaker-than-expected pre-Christmas sales, and trimmed its full year earnings forecasts.
• BAE Systems declined 2.8%, after it stated that renegotiation of its Typhoon jet contract with Saudi Arabia might be delayed, impacting its 2011 earnings.
• Miners, Glencore International, Antofagasta and Vedanta Resources, dropped between 2.4% and 3.1%, as base metal prices retreated.
• 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 lower against the USD at $1.5608, marginally higher against the EUR at €1.2072, and marginally lower against the JPY at ¥119.76.
• The EUR is trading marginally lower against the USD at $1.2929, on concern that European sovereign borrowers and banks would struggle to raise funds, ahead of the French bond auction today.
• The EUR is trading flat against the JPY at ¥99.21.
• The AUD is trading lower against most of its major peers, after a report showed the Australian trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in November and after a survey showed that Australia’s services industry shrank in December for a third straight month.
• The WON slipped against the USD, amid concerns that Europe’s debt crisis would worsen outweighing upbeat US economic reports.
• Yesterday, the EUR and CAD closed lower against the USD, as concern that European sovereign debt crisis would worsen, dampened demand for high-yielding assets.
• The GBP closed higher against the EUR and CHF, after the Bank of England data showed that foreign investors increased their gilt holdings by £16.3 billion in November, the biggest monthly rise since September 2008.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread betting.

Commodities Spread Betting Markets

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.3% higher today, at $1,616.22 per ounce.
• Gold for February delivery added 0.8% or $12.20 to end at $1,612.70 per ounce yesterday. This came amid concerns that the EU government might announce harsher sanctions on Iran’s energy and banking industries, and as lingering concerns about the European debt crisis spurred purchase of the precious metal as a safe haven asset.
• In Asia, crude oil for February delivery is trading 0.2% or 17 cents lower at $103.05 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude oil for February delivery rose 0.3% or 26 cents to settle at $103.22 per barrel. This came after the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude-oil inventories declined by 4.4 million barrels last week and after the EU governments reached a deal in principle to ban imports from Iran.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.