Weekly Trading Update

12.09.14 Friday Morning





This week has been dominated by the Scottish referendum, sending markets into a mixed state whilst smashing sterling. Uncertainty spooked markets at the beginning of the week as an unexpected poll released saw the “Yes” vote take over, sending investors into panic mode as to the consequences of an independent Scotland. The uncertainties mainly hit GBP/USD with the currency collapsing to hit multi-month lows of around $1.6100. Similarly, European bourses felt the worries of investors with the FTSE and DAX both getting off to a negative start to the week.

The economic calendar got kick-started properly on Tuesday with UK Manufacturing Production coming in as expected at 0.3%. Soon after, investors scrutinised Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s words as he spoke in Liverpool. Mr Carney has spoken out regarding Scottish independence, warning trade unions that independence would be “incompatible with sovereignty”.  During his speech in Liverpool, Mark Carney suggested the bank may start to raise interest rates next spring but failed to entice buying. Sterling initially reacting positively to his words however the Scottish independence worries soon weighted back in on the currency.

Shares in Apple were trading slightly higher on Wednesday afternoon at around $99 ahead of the hugely anticipated announcement of their new products at a keynote. Apple kick-started the event by announcing the iPhone 6 and a larger iPhone 6 Plus. This was followed shortly by the iWatch, as expected by investors around the globe. Throughout the keynote speech, Apple shares traded mixed with high levels of volatility as many investors participated in trading the stock through the unveiling of their new products. After the Keynote, the share price dropped off slightly to around $96 USD, however once volatility calmed down the stock managed to climb and smash through the $100USD level.

Towards the second half of the week, new polls released to the public showed that the “No” vote had begun to fight back as the ‘Better Together’ campaign looked to be working with British politicians heading to Scotland in an attempt to prevent independence. With the new polls being released, sterling could breathe a sigh of relief and slightly strengthen however the upside was small compared to the huge fall in the currency this week.

Heading into Thursday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi spoke out at the Eurofi Financial Forum in Milan. Traders often use his public appearances to scrutinise his words and to potentially decipher clues on the future monetary policies. Mr Draghi used this opportunity to speak out regarding his plans for Eurozone recovery, hitting out at critics and announcing the ECB is to purchase asset-backed securities worth billions of Euros in an attempt to free up banks’ balance sheets.

Stock of the week – Apple +2.74%

With Apple finally announcing their new hotly anticipated products to eager investors this week, it seems apt to make Apple the stock of the week. Volatility was huge around the keynote speech when Apple announced the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the iWatch. Shares bounced into positive and negative areas during the speech, ending slightly lower when it came to an end. Once the market had calmed slightly, the stock managed to climb and smash through the $100USD level.

UK100 Chart

Open (Monday)

6833

Close (Thursday)

6800

Change

-0.48%

High

6860

Low

6765

WallStreet Chart

Open (Monday)

17106

Close (Thursday)

17046

Change

-0.35%

High

17140

Low

16976

Gold Chart

Open (Monday)

1269

Close (Thursday)

1242

Change

-2.12%

High

1270

Low

1232

Cable Chart

Open (Monday)

1.6159

Close (Thursday)

1.622

Change

0.37

High

1.6277

Low

1.6055

Economic Data

Monday

- No Notable Pieces of Data

Tuesday

- GBP CPI
- EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment
- USD PPI

Wednesday

- GBP Average Earnings Index
- GBP Claimant Count Change
- GBP MPC Asset Purchase Facility Votes
- GBP Official Bank Rate Votes
- USD Core CPI
- USD FOMC Economic Projections
- USD FOMC Statement
- USD FOMC Press Conference

Thursday

- GBP Retail Sales
- USD Building Permits
- USD Unemployment Claims
- GBP Scottish Independent Vote

Friday

- No Notable Pieces of Data


Earnings

Tuesday

- Galliford Try
- IQE
- Falkland Oil & Gas
- N Brown Group
- Silence Therapeutics
- Craneware
- Thomas Cook


Wednesday

- Indigovision Group
- Chemring Group
- IG Group

Thursday

- Merlin Entertainments
- Wilmington Group
- FW Thorpe
- French Connection Group
- Just Retirement Group
- Booker Group
- Sinclair IS Pharma

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