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International markets - Weekly Movers

Eurozone sovereign debt continued to be the key catalyst driving international markets last week, although the most turbulent activity was triggered by comments from the Fed on the downside risks facing the US economy, comments backed up by further statements from the IMF and the World Bank on their similar concerns for global economic prospects.

Strong international markets’ performance was once more hard to find across the week, with only two countries returning a positive performance.  Pakistan posted a weekly gain of 6.04% whilst Egypt mustered a return of 2.92%.  Japan was the third best performer for the week, yet still posted a loss of -0.44%.  Unsurprisingly, there were a cluster of markets that saw double digit losses over the seven day period.  Hungary saw a second consecutive week at the foot of the table with a loss of -16.22%, with Austria close behind with a loss of -15.56%.  Mexico placed third on the worst performers list, down -14.53%.

Looking at individual international stocks, among last week’s best performers were US food producer General Mills (NYSE:GIS), up 3.1%, US pharmaceutical firm Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), up 2.7% and Canadian oil and gas pipeline supplier Enbridge (TSX: ENB, NYSE: ENB), up 2.1%.

At the other end of the spectrum there were several companies posting weekly losses in excess of -20%, unsurprising given the market conditions and economic news.  Amongst the poorest performers across the seven days were China Coal Energy (SEHK: 1898), down 24.8%, US miner Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold (NYSE: FCX), down 22.2% and Canadian metals and mining firm Teck Resources (TSX: TCK.A, NYSE: TCK), down 21.4%.

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.

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

The week ahead – market diary

It is a relatively quiet period this week for big company results, while on the economic side of things the key point of interest in the UK will be the release of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting minutes.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

International markets - Weekly Movers

Eurozone sovereign debt was once more at the forefront of the economic agenda last week.  Fresh fears that Greece could fail to meet the terms of the EU assistance package emerged but were subsequently dampened by a joint Franco-German statement reassuring Greece's position in the Eurozone

Strong international markets’ performance was hard to find across the week.  The prime developed equity market heavyweight, the US, topped the list, posting a return of 1.91% over the seven days.  Portugal took second spot with a gain of 1.19% while Germany was the third best performer with a return of 0.85%. European neighbours Hungary and Austria propped up the other end of the table, posting losses across the week of -13.84% and -10.3% respectively.  Egypt ranked third lowest performer with a loss of -9.42%.

Looking at individual international stocks, two of the best performers hailed from this week’s best performing market, the US.  Topping the stock list was online auction firm eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), up 18.4%, with compatriot online retailer Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) posting a gain of 13.2%. Between these two sat German energy giant E.ON (FWB: EOAN), with a gain of 16.8%.

Japan’s gaming software giant Nintendo (Pink Sheets: NTDOY, FWB: NTO) saw the biggest fall of the week, down -10%.  French bank Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) followed close behind with a loss across the week of -9% with Canada’s mining company GoldCorp (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) posting the third biggest loss over seven days, of -8.4%.

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.

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

International markets - Weekly Movers

Poor US jobs data and lingering fears of sovereign debt default in the Eurozone were the main economic drivers of the past week.

From the perspective of international markets’ performance, it was a selection of emerging markets that had the strongest showing. Indonesia topped the list across the past seven days, posting a return of 5.1%.  Turkey was in second place up 3.31% whilst one of the ‘BRIC’ economies, India, placed third with a 2.4% return.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, Switzerland posted the largest loss of the week, a drop of -8.48%.  Behind Switzerland came Israel, down -7.96% and with Italy the third poorest performer, down -7.75%.

Top performer across international stocks this week was US search engine and internet services firm Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), who posted a seven day gain of 12.5%.  Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis (SIX: NOVN, NYSE: NVS), also had a strong performance with a 7.9% gain, as did market compatriot and luxury goods firm Richemont (SIX: CFR), up 6%.

The biggest fallers this week were French banking giant Soc Gen, down 21.3%, China’s Anhui Conch Cement (SEHK: 914) down 16% and Italian bank UniCredit  (FWB: CRI) who saw a drop of 14.2%.

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.

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

The week ahead – market diary

Two stalwarts of the UK high street are reporting this week, namely fashion chain Next and DIY retailer Kingfisher.

Charles Stanley is expecting Next to report a solid set of interim results, with profit before tax of £240m, up from £214m at the halfway stage last year. Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation are tipped to rise to £240m from £226m last year, on sales of £1,650m, up from £1,587m last year.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

International markets - Weekly Movers

The last week of August was relatively subdued in the context of the market activity seen during the rest of the month.  A pick up in US consumer spending was the main economic driver for the week and the majority of international markets responded positively. 

From the perspective of international markets’ performance, South Africa topped the list across the past seven days, posting a return of 10.95%.  South Korea was in second place with a gain of 9.66% whilst the Middle East Africa region was third with a gain of 9.48%.  There were only two markets that posted a negative performance last week, Malaysia, with a loss of 0.91% and Egypt, down 0.53%.  Pakistan has the third poorest performance of the week, posting a gain of 0.09%.

From the perspective of individual international stocks top performer for the week was multinational electronics manufacturing group Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (SEHK: 2038, NASDAQ: HNHPF) who posted a gain of 18.4%.  Other strong performers for the past seven days included US casino and resort firm Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), up 13.7%, and Brazilian banking giant Santander Brasil (NYSE: BSBR), up 10.5%.

In contrast the biggest fallers for the week were Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (FWB: DTE, Pink Sheets: DTEGY) and US agribusiness firm Monsanto (NYSE: MON) who both posted a loss of 6.9%.  Close behind came Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), with a loss of 6.6% over the seven days.

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.

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

The week ahead – market diary

Fast growing supermarket chain Morrisons releases interim results next week, and broker Nomura Securities thinks the group's marketing campaigns such as "Biggest Ever Price Crunch" and "Fuel Britannia" will have gone down well with "austerity Britain".
Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting:

New research out now: the September issue of Compass

The month of August 2011 has been one of the most turbulent witnessed by the markets in recent years.  The September edition of Compass from Barclays Wealth, is now available.  Entitled “A testing time – but stay invested”, it reflects on this period, taking an additional focus on the nature of financial behaviour and how it impacts investors during such times.

Compass opens with an economics update and emphasises that despite the recent market volatility, and that Barclays Wealth economic expectations for the second half of 2011 are more modest, the view is that the US will avoid a material recession and that global growth will remain firmly positive.  It then goes on to discuss the tactical asset allocation changes made as a result of the recent volatility.

Compass also discusses three more topics this month, examining the behavioural finance traits investors should be aware of during such periods, focussing on investors’ approach to risk and investigating Alternative Trading Strategies (ATS) as a portfolio tool.

Login to read Compass in full.

You can also login to find out details of a conference call to discuss the latest issue of Compass that will be held on Tuesday 6th September at 10.30am (BST).

The week ahead – market diary

In a week shortened by the Bank Holiday on Monday, there are few blockbuster company results expected. Thursday will see Punch Taverns and Spirit Pub Group issue their first trading updates as separate entities since the two split up.

Here is this week’s selection of companies reporting: