Spread Betting Trading Signals Snapshot

• FTSE 100 shed 1.6% to end at 5,423.1.
• FTSEurofirst 300 index declined 1.3% or 12.8 points end at 957.9.
• DJIA lost 1.1% to close at 11,770.7. NASDAQ declined 2.0% to settle at 2,588.0. S&P 500 retreated 1.7% to end at 1,216.1.
• Nikkei 225 index is trading 1.3% lower, at 8,368.1.
• In Asia, crude oil for December delivery is trading 0.3% or $0.26 lower at $98.56 per barrel.
• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.2% higher against the USD at $1.5778, marginally lower against the EUR at €1.1700, and 0.1% higher against the JPY at ¥121.34.
• For more on trading stock market indices see spread betting on indices.

UK Spread Trading Signals

• UK markets dropped sharply yesterday, amid concerns that the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is intensifying after Spanish and French bond yields surged to euro-era high levels at the recent debt auction.
• Vedanta Resources, the top laggard on the FTSE 100 index, declined 6.9%, while BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto lost between 2.8% and 3.5%, as base metal prices lost ground.
• Among banking stocks, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group slipped between 2.6% and 4.6%, amid concerns over global economic growth.
• Travel sector stock, Carnival dropped 4.3%, amid worries over rising fuel cost and after HSBC initiated coverage on the stock with “Neutral” rating.
• Imperial Tobacco retreated 2.9%, as Nomura downgraded the stock to “Reduce” from “Add”.
• FTSE 100 shed 1.6% to end at 5,423.1. FTSE 250 lost 1.2% to settle at 10,150.3.
• National Grid rose 2.4%, after reporting first-half results that surpassed market estimates.
• Glencore International rose 1.9%, after it reported a rise in its third-quarter production.
• Miners, Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta and ENRC, slumped between 5.8% and 6.9%, tracking lower base metal prices.
• Fresnillo plummeted 5.9%, following a decline in silver prices.
• Inmarsat shed 4.7%, after its key US customer, Lightsquared, faced further political pressure.
• Carnival dropped 4.3%, amid worries over rising fuel cost and after HSBC initiated coverage on the stock with “Neutral” rating.
• For more on trading UK shares see spread betting on UK shares.

Forex Spread Betting Trading Signals

• At 0400 BST today, the GBP is trading 0.2% higher against the USD at $1.5778, marginally lower against the EUR at €1.1700, and 0.1% higher against the JPY at ¥121.34.
• The EUR is trading 0.2% higher against the USD at $1.3486.
• The EUR is trading 0.1% higher against the JPY at ¥103.71.
• The USD weakened against most of its major peers, amid speculation that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy to lower borrowing costs and shore up the economy. Economists expect that the National Association of Realtors data would show US sales of existing homes dropped for a second month in October, sliding 2.2% from September.
• Yesterday, the EUR closed higher against the USD, as Italian bond yields dropped amid report that the European Central Bank bought more Italian government bonds, overshadowing concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis.
• The GBP closed higher against the USD, after a report showed that UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in October.
• The AUD and NZD ended lower against the USD, after better-than-expected initial jobless claims data increased demand for the USD.
• The CAD closed lower against the USD, as lower commodity prices decreased the demand for the commodity linked currency.
• For more on trading the forex markets see forex spread betting.

Commodities Spread Betting Trading Signals

• Gold for immediate delivery is trading 0.2% higher today, at $1,724.67 per ounce.
• Gold futures for December delivery dropped 3.1% or $54.10 to end at $1,720.20 per ounce yesterday, as investors booked profits to shore up losses in the rest of their portfolio.
• In Asia, crude oil for December delivery is trading 0.3% or $0.26 lower at $98.56 per barrel.
• Yesterday, crude oil for December delivery fell 3.7% or $3.77 to settle at $98.82 per barrel. This came amid worries that the European debt crisis is spreading and after the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey slowed to 3.6 in November from 8.7 in October.
• For more on commodities trading see commodities spread betting.