Spread Trading Markets Snapshot

• FTSE 100 dropped 1.0% or 61.4 points to 5,929.2.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index slipped 1.5% to 1,097.6.
• DJIA slid 1.2% or 151.4 points to 12,505.8. NASDAQ fell 2.0% or 57.2 points to 2,802.6. S&P 500 index closed 1.8% lower, at 1,319.5.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.4% lower, at 9,928.4.
• In Asia, crude oil for August delivery is trading 55 cents lower at $94.60 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% lower against the USD at $1.5883, 0.5% higher against the EUR at €1.1378 and 0.4% lower against the JPY at ¥127.271.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread trading on indices.

UK Spread Trading Market Review

• UK markets closed lower yesterday, led by losses in financial stocks, miners and oil producers, as escalating Eurozone debt contagion fears dampened market sentiments.
• Banks, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC, dropped between 0.4% and 4.0%, as risk appetite continued to fade among investors.
• Insurers, Aviva, Legal & General and RSA Insurance, also paced declines, in line with a fall in equity markets.
• Miners, Vedanta Resources, ENRC and BHP Billiton, lost between 0.7% and 3.2%, as base metal prices fell.
• Oil producers, Essar Energy, BG Group and Tullow Oil, declined between 0.3% and 5.4%, tracking lower crude oil prices.
• Among other stocks, British Sky Broadcasting slid 4.6%, as the phone hacking scandal at News Corp threatened to derail the latter’s planned takeover of the former.
• FTSE 100 dropped 1.0% to 5,929.2. FTSE 250 fell 1.6% to 11,880.1.
• Essar Energy dipped 5.4%, after India’s environment ministry denied the company the forestry permit it needed to mine coal for its Mahan power plant, which is due to come online this year.
• British Sky Broadcasting lost 4.6%, after UK Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, stated that News Corp’s proposed bid for the company would be referred to a six-month Competition Commission review.
• International Power gained 2.6%, after the company stated that the Australian government’s new carbon tax would be important to its Australian operations and employees.
• Fresnillo advanced 0.7%, despite a fall in silver prices.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread trading on UK shares.

Forex Spread Trading Markets

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.1% lower against the USD at $1.5883, the GBP / EUR is 0.5% higher at €1.1378 and the GBP is 0.4% lower against the JPY at ¥127.271.
• The EUR is trading 0.6% lower against the USD at $1.3960.
• The EUR is trading 0.8% lower against the JPY at ¥111.85, as most Asian equity markets traded lower, decreasing the demand for high yielding assets.
• The NZD and AUD is trading lower against the JPY and USD, as worries over global economic recovery and lower commodity prices sapped demand for high yielding assets. The AUD also fell, after a report showed that Australian business confidence fell to a six-month low in June.
• Yesterday, the EUR ended lower against the USD and touched a record low against the Swiss franc, on fears that Eurozone debt contagion could spread to the bigger economies of Italy and Spain.
• Malaysia’s ringgit ended lower against the USD, after a report showed that industrial output in Malaysia slid 5.1% from a year earlier in May, following a 2.2% drop in the previous month.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread trading.

Commodities Spread Trading Markets

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.1% lower today, at $1,552.0 per ounce.
• Gold prices for August delivery added 0.5% or $7.60 to $1,549.20 per ounce yesterday, as continuing concerns over Eurozone debt crisis forced investors to purchase the precious metal as a safe haven asset.
• In Asia, crude oil for August delivery is trading 55 cents lower at $94.60 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude oil for August delivery closed 1.1% or $1.05 lower at $95.15 per barrel, on fears that the widening euro zone debt crisis and the slowing recovery in global economy could dampen future oil demand.
• Oil prices fell as the dollar gained against the euro, decreasing the demand for the commodities as an alternative investment.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread trading.