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Market Diary

International markets - Weekly Movers

Focus for the week was once more highly trained on the Eurozone crisis, as markets failed to take confidence from Friday's European summit, with attention closer to home falling on the UK Prime Minister's decision to step away from the deal.  There was a minor drop in UK inflation on Tuesday 13 December (down from 5% to 4.8%), and markets took a further confidence knock on Wednesday 14 December as the Euro hit an 11-month low against the dollar and Italy paid a record yield of 6.47% on 5-year bonds.
International market performance was generally negative as a result, with notable losses across the week recorded in Austria (-9.72%), China (-6.41%), Australia (-6.07%) and Canada (-5.71%).

Looking at individual international stocks, performance was mixed.  Among the top stocks for seven day returns were Israeli pharmaceutical firm Teva (NASDAQ: TEVA), up +8.4%, US natural gas and electricity firm PG & E (NYSE: PCG) up +4.6%, and Brazil’s Telesp (NYSE: VIV), up +3.4%. The weakest performances of the week were concentrated around the European banks.  French based banks were at the foot of the performance table with Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA), down -15.7% and Soc Gen (Euronext: GLE) down -15.4%.  Italy’s Unicred (BIT: UCG, FWB: CRI) followed closely behind, down -14.4% over the week.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

International markets - Weekly Movers

Continued Eurozone speculation in the build up to Friday's summit meeting, downgrade warnings from S&P and an ECB rate cut were the key economic drivers of last week as global markets broadly flattened out after the previous week's steady rises. 
International market performance was varied, with a mix of positive and negative returns across geographies and scales.  Thailand was the top performer for the week, seeing a return of +3.3% across the past seven days.  The UAE and Austria followed closely behind with returns of +2.64% and +2.6% respectively.  The weakest performances were concentrated in Europe where Finland (-6.81%), Ireland (-5.53%) and Russia (-5.02%) propped up the table.

Looking at individual international stocks, there was upside to be found across the seven days, particularly from selected US stocks.  Top performer for the week was US internet auction firm eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) with a gain of +6.9%, followed closely by financial giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), up +5.5% and pharmaceutical firm Lilley (NYSE: LLY), +5.1%.  In contrast companies that fared worse across the week included China Pacific Insurance (SEHK: 2601), down -8.2%, Australia’s Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM), down -8.1% and Finish telecommunications firm Nokia (OMX: NOK1V; FWB: NOA3; NYSE: NOK), down -7.9%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

The week ahead – market diary

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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28 November 2011

International markets - Weekly Movers

Global markets had a depressing week as inertia over the Euro zone situation, US wrangling over budget cuts and weak US 3rd quarter GDP data were further compounded by the poor performance of the German bond auction on Wednesday 24 November.
 
International market performance was clearly shaped by these factors as no market posted a positive return.  Pakistan, Peru and Malaysia were the best performers, limiting the week’s losses to drops of -1.25%, -1.59% and -1.82% respectively.  Unsurprisingly it was European markets that were hardest hit.  Worst return of the week was from Turkey, down -13.93%, followed by Austria, down 12.63% and Finland, down -11.33%.

Looking at individual international stocks, performance for the week was much the same as that of the wider markets, with weak gains and heavy losses across the board.  Amongst the top performers for the week were the oil production arm of the Russian energy giant Gazprom (Gazprom Neft) (FWB: SCFF), up +2.3%, Japanese electronics powerhouse Sony (NYSE: SNE) who saw a return of +2.2% and Canadian mining firm Kinross Gold (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC), up +1.6%. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the lowest performances came from Finish telecommunications giant Nokia (OMX: NOK1V, NYSE: NOK, FWB: NOA3), who saw a loss of -16.1%, Norwegian financial services firm DnB (OSE: DNB), down -13.5% and China Coal (SEHK: 1898) down 13.4%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

The week ahead – market diary

This week will likely focus on the ongoing developments in the Eurozone, especially with the region's economic growth data due out on Tuesday. However, several blue chip companies will release their interim results, including Burberry, SABMiller and ICAP.

The flash estimate of third quarter Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) is due out on Tuesday, which is sure to be keenly watched by the markets after the European Commission slashed its estimates for 2012 growth on Thursday from 1.8% to just 0.5%.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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The week ahead – market diary
There is no shortage of big companies reporting in the second week of November, with the likes of HSBC and Lloyds keeping the banking results season ticking over, and Legal & General continuing the spate of insurers reporting. On top of that, the Bank of England will be reporting on Thursday on how the resumption of the quantitative easing programme is progressing

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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International markets - Weekly Movers

Even in the context of recent weeks, where sovereign debt concerns in the Euro zone have been dominant across the economic agenda, this was a particularly eventful seven days.  Initial confidence in the renewed bail out package struck by the euro zone members was immediately eroded by the Greek government's announcement that they would seek public endorsement of the deal via a referendum.  Markets fell strongly as a result, only to stabilise and start climbing again as Greece gave indications that it would backtrack from the referendum option.

International market performance was mixed as a result.  Pakistan was the stand out performer, posting a gain of +12.8% across the seven days, with Egypt the closest to this, up +3.51%.  India placed third after a gain of 2.03%.  At the other end of the spectrum, Hungary had the poorest weekly performance with a loss of -14.91% with neighbour Austria close behind on -13.89%.  Ireland had the third poorest performance with a return of -11.25%.

Looking at individual international stocks, top performer for the week was China Life Insurance (SEHK: 2628) with a gain of +13.6%, with US oil and gas provider EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) in second place, up 6.8%, followed by China Pacific Insurance (SEHK:2601) in third with a gain of 6.7%.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, companies to suffer the heaviest seven day losses were France’s Soc Gen (Euronext: GLE), down -23.4%, Japan’s electronics giant Sony (NYSE: SNE) down -18.1%, and a second French bank, BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP), down -15%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

Compass November 2011 - Still muddling through

The November 2011 edition of Compass is now available. The Barclays Wealth investment strategy team give their update on current global economic conditions and how they expect the landscape to develop in the near future.
Unsurprisingly most of the focus is again on the eurozone’s debt crisis. Last week the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said they had reached agreement with Greece on reforms to put the nation's troubled economy back on track.
Compass follows on from last month’s edition by examining if the latest EU summit strengthens the possibility of a ‘muddle through well’ scenario as opposed to ‘muddle through badly’.
The in house view at Barclays Wealth is that we should not expect market volatility to return to more normal, lower levels until the risk of a eurozone financial collapse and /or a US recession fade from investor consciousness.
Also covered in the monthly economics update, Compass looks at the global growth pick up in the 3rd quarter of 2011 in the US. The view here is that growth will remain firmly positive in the final quarter although it may ease somewhat.

Login to read Compass in full

International markets - Weekly Movers

The euro zone was once again at the forefront of global economic attention as discussions on agreement of a further bail out package for the debt crisis reached agreement late on Wednesday 26-October.  Key measures to be implemented are an expansion of the EFSF and a strategy of Euro zone banks accepting losses on Greek debt in exchange for re-capitalisation.  Markets saw steady gains throughout the week as confidence in reaching agreement grew, before enjoying a significant spike on Thursday 27-Oct, as the deal triggered a rally.

As a result there were strong performances from markets across the board last week, with only one market posting a negative return.  Unsurprisingly, it was European markets than saw the strongest gains, with Sweden having the largest rally, up + 17.3%, Austria in second place, up 16.81% and Poland in third place with a gain of + 15.74%.  At the foot of the performance table was Pakistan, who posted a loss of -0.9%.  All other markets were in positive territory, with the lowest gain coming from the Philippines up +1.91, followed by Egypt, up 2.31%.

Looking at individual international stocks, top performer for the week was China Merchants Bank (SEHK: 3968) with a gain of +28.6%, with US hotel chain Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) in second place, up 27.4%, followed by French bank Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) in third with a gain of 27.2%.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, companies to suffer the heaviest seven day losses were Time Warner (NYSE/NASDAQ: TWX), down -11.8%, US internet retailer Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) down -7.4%, and Italian energy supplier Snam Rete Gas (BIT: SRG), down -6.1%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

The week ahead – market diary

Companies reporting week commencing 31 October include Imperial Tobacco Group, Cable & Wireless, Man Group, Tate & Lyle and online retailed ASOS.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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The week ahead – market diary

AstraZeneca reports Q3 results on Thursday. As ever, patent expiries will be an issue for AstraZeneca, but could it also benefit from reduced research and development spending?  However, up-and-coming drug group Shire, also reporting Q3 results, may have a little more excitement to offer than its bigger peer.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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International markets - Weekly Movers

There was continued to-and-fro on Euro zone sentiment this week, with particular focus on agreement over the approach to the EFSF (European Financial Stability Fund) strategy between France and Germany.  This combined with weak economic data from China and a nervous start to the US earnings season to throw up another volatile week for global markets.

There was a wider spread of international market performance compared to last week, where only two of the markets measured were in the red over the seven days. Top performing international market of the week was Ireland, who saw a gain of +4.99% in market value.  Ireland was closely followed by Israel, who posted a return of +3.5%, with Russia in third place, seeing a gain of +1.82%.  Of the poorer performers this week, Turkey posted the biggest drop, down -7.77%.  Last week’s best performing market saw that positioned pulled back, as Peru saw the second biggest loss at -7.38%, with Austria in third place, posting a loss of -5.75%.

From the perspective of individual international stocks, the US dominated the top performers, following in China’s footsteps from last week and playing host to the best three performing stocks of the week.  Topping the list was financial services firm State Street (NYSE: STT), up 14.4% on the week.  In second place was Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), with a gain of 12%, and following on in third spot was insurance firm The Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV), up 11.9%.

At the other end of the spectrum, two Chinese financial services firms had the poorest weekly performance.  China Pacific Insurance (SEHK: 2601) was at the foot of the table with a return of -16.6%, with China Life Insurance (SEHK: 2628) close behind, posting a loss of -14.4%.  In third place was pan-European aerospace and defence corporation EADS (Euronext, FWB: EAD), with a return of -11.4%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

International markets - Weekly Movers

The ongoing Euro zone saga was once again at the centre of economic attention last week, with focus falling on Slovakia, who were debating the expansion of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF).  Despite an initial rejection of the bill, it is expected to be passed, and market movements were driven by positive sentiment.

The best performing international market of the week was South American emerging economy Peru, who saw a rise of +11.71% in market value.  China placed second with an uplift of +11.41% over the seven days, with neighbouring market Hong Kong posting a return of +10.97%.  Only one market posted a loss across the week, Austria, who saw a dip of -4.84%.  Other lower performers were all “in the black”, with United Arab Emirates posting the lowest gain of the week at +1.34% and Canada just ahead of this at +2.12%.

From the perspective of individual international stocks, it was China’s turn to dominate the top performers, with the top three performers all hailing from those shores.  Yanzhou Cola Mining (SEHK: 1171, NYSE: YZC) topped the list over seven days with a return of +21.1%, construction form Anhui Conch Cement (SEHK: 914) came in second, up 21%, with China Merchant Bank (SEHK: 3968) taking third spot with a gain of +20%.  On the flip side, it was mostly European firms that had less to shout about.  Amongst the poorest performers were Germany’s Commerzbank (FWN: CBK) and Metro AG (FWB: MEO) down -6% and -4.3% respectively, with neighbouring Switzerland’s Roche (SIX: ROG, PinkSheets: RHHBY) in between, posting a loss of -4.4%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.

The week ahead – market diary

This week's busy results schedule has a boozy look to it with the likes of C&C, Diageo, Punch Taverns, Spirit Group and SABMiller all updating the market, while, for the teetotallers, there are announcements expected from Costa Coffee owner Whitbread and soft drinks outfit Britvic.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has its annual general meeting on Wednesday, the same day it is set to produce quarterly production statistics.

On the economic front, the Bank of England will release minutes from the most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, which will provide further detail on the thinking behind the committee's decision to revive the quantitative easing programme.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

The week ahead – market diary

Recruiter Hays Group updated the market early last week and this week it is the turn of sector peers Michael Page and Robert Walters.

Michael Page saw its share price fall in August when it warned of a slow-down in profit growth in the banking sector. High investment in consultants, management and infrastructure in Asia Pacific and the Americas dampened profit growth, but the company is expected to reiterate its determination to expand in these markets, because that is where it sees the most opportunity for growth.

On Friday online clothing firm ASOS updates the market. As fashion chain Supergroup has recently demonstrated, when the market begins to lose faith in a growth company's ability to maintain its frenetic growth rate, the damage to the share price can be swift and painful. As recently as the start of August, the shares were trading comfortably above 2200p, but they are now down to about 1440p.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

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New research out now: Special October edition of Compass

The October edition of Compass is now available and follows on from the market volatility theme presented in September’s edition.

Entitled “Perspectives on Markets: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” Compass begins  by examining  the financial crises of the past in order to understand the common factors behind them and cautions us about where the next bubble might be forming.  Next it moves on to explore the economic burdens that remain after the 2008 crisis and the debt that formed for governments and consumers alike off the back of this.

Compass also takes a detailed look at the euro zone’s economic challenges as well as the motivations and constraints of its core decision makers. The conclusion here is that the euro area sovereign debt saga is unlikely to end any time soon in either financial catastrophe or a final resolution.

Finally the attention is turned to Asia when Compass analyzes whether the region can con­tinue its breakneck rate of economic growth over the coming years and tests if these prospects are reflected in stock market valuations in the region.

Login to your account and visit the ‘Special Reports’ section to read Compass in full.

The week ahead – market diary

This week sees the opportunity to gauge the relative trading patterns of supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury.

Tesco's interim figures on Wednesday are probably the more eagerly awaited, given the recent change in strategy of the company in favour of an "every day low prices" strategy rather than a promotions-led strategy, such as the double Clubcard points offers the firm has provided in the past.

The interesting question is whether the change in tack is simply a case of relatively new chief executive, Philip Clarke, continuing to put his stamp on the company, or whether it is a case of Tesco desperately trying to prevent its UK market share falling below the psychologically important 30% mark.

On the economic front, both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will be announcing their interest rate decisions. Though there has been talk of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street cutting its benchmark interest rate from its historic low level of 0.5%, the chances of that happening this month are close to zero. There is more prospect of the Bank reviving its quantitative easing programme, though that is also a bit of a long shot.

As for the European Central Bank, many are expecting the policy makers to admit they raised interest rates too soon earlier in the year by reversing course and announcing a rate cut.
Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

International markets - Weekly Movers

It was another choppy week for global equity markets.  After the losses triggered by pessimistic comments from the FED, IMF and World bank last week, firm hopes of easing the Eurozone debt crisis through an expansion of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) sparked a market rally

This positive sentiment was evident in the Eurozone in particular, where three of the nations hardest hit in recent months benefitted from the rally.  Italy, Ireland and Spain were the top three performers across international markets last week, providing returns of 13.51%, 13.03% and 12.01% respectively.  Emerging markets from further afield propped up the table.  The South American economy of Peru posted the worst weekly loss across seven days, down -11.77%.  Thailand was in second last place with a return of -7.03%, with Egypt in third spot, reporting a loss of -4.37%.

From the perspective of individual international stocks, the European financial services sector provided the best returns of the week, as firms in the area rallied on the prospects of eurozone recovery.  Top performer for the week was French bank Soc Gen (Euronext: GLE, Pink Sheets: SCGLY), up 20.2%, who were followed by German insurer Allianz (FWB: ALV, NYSE: AZ), up 20.1% and French compatriot AXA, (Euronext: CS, Pink Sheets: AXAHY), up 19.3%.

At the other end of the spectrum the US was home to some of the week’s poorest performers.  Chemical firm Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) posted the largest weekly loss, down 15.1%.  Hotels and Leisure chain Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) saw a loss of 13.6%, while discount online travel retailer priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) posted a seven day loss of 12.7%.

You should ensure that you are aware of all the potential risks and downsides before investing overseas. These investments can fall in value. You may get back less than you invested. You also need to bear in mind that international investing comes with a currency risk. Fluctuations in currency could have a negative impact on the value of your investment

To trade in international equities or find out more about the latest international market news and movements, login to International Trader. If you do not yet have an International Trader account, find out more.