THE TIPSTER RESULTS ARE STILL THE MAIN DRIVER
THIS week the focus will be clearly on the British banks, which will be releasing their second quarter earnings. While traders will be looking at the performance of the whole sector, spread betters should be particularly watching Lloyds Banking Group, which reports on Wednesday. Recently, there have been several bullish broker notes and the shares have enjoyed a good run, but will the figures confirm analysts’ forecasts? Capital Spreads offers a price of 83.2p-83.5p.
Insurance brokers are also reporting at the moment. Jardine Lloyd reported a 12 per cent increase in its first half profit last week and said it expected further growth in the months ahead. Following the announcement, shares hit four-month highs of 456.25p. Plenty of spread betters have been buying on the expectation of further highs. ShortsandLongs.com has a rolling spread of 446.8p-449.2p.
Wholesale broker Tullett Prebon has yet to report but it has tracked the financial sector’s fortunes higher over the last four months. With confidence continuing to pour back into the sector, expectations are high ahead of Tuesday’s data. Brokers are also backing the rally with Citigroup extending its price target for the stock to 360p in recent days. Current September spread at IG Index is 357.8p-361.8p.
Beer and soft drinks can maker Rexam last week unveiled a £351m rights issue after falling to a first half loss. Shares plunged 12 per cent on Monday and then a further 8 per cent Wednesday before settling around 236p on Friday. But canny investors will be watching the stock. Spreadex has a December spread of 236p-238p.
Copper miner Kazakhmys was the darling of the mining sector last week after it said it was on track to meet full-year production guidance. But the buy signals are still strong and spread betters should be targeting 1,000p. IG Index has a September spread of 849p-852p.