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JamesIG

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Blog Entries posted by JamesIG

  1. JamesIG
    Expected index adjustments 
    Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 2nd July 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect  your positions, please take a look at the video. 


    NB: Special Divs are highlighted in orange 
    Special Dividends
    You can see the special dividends listed below. Unfortunately we do not have granular insight on the effect on the index for the index in question, however the below maybe helpful for some. Please note the dates below are the stock adjustments in the underlying, whilst the index div adjustments are taken out the day before on the IG platform at the cash close.
    How do dividend adjustments work? 
    As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is effected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements.
    This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  2. JamesIG
    In a continued effort to increase the amount of trade ideas and strategy pieces in the web trading platform, I'm happy to announce both Live and Demo clients can now access Community threads from within the platform. This will specifically surface the very latest threads from the 'Strategy and Market Discussion' board based on the 'most recent new thread post' hierarchy. 
    This follows further efforts such as including Reuters news and video, IGTV live video, and analyst articles into the platform. This means we're at a stage where we can produce a single news page which will collate all these channels in single view (with granular insight available on the click through). I can update when this is live.
     
    To access Community from within the web trading platform
    News - from the left hand menu Community - from the top level navigation 'Add to workspace' - if you're looking to add the news section as a permanent feature
     
    Video on Community location in the left hand fly out
    news flyout.webm
  3. JamesIG
    Expected index adjustments 
    Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 1 Oct 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect  your positions, please take a look at the video. 

    NB: All dividend adjustments are forecasts and therefore speculative. A dividend adjustment is a 
    cash neutral adjustment on your account. Special Divs are highlighted in orange.
    Special dividends 
    You can see the special dividends listed below. Unfortunately we do not have granular insight on the effect on the index for the index in question, however the below maybe helpful for some. Please note the dates below are the stock adjustments in the underlying individual instrument, whilst the index div adjustments are taken out the day before on the IG platform at the cash close.
    Index
    Bloomberg Code
    Effective Date
     Amount
     
    UKX
    BDEV LN
    11/10/2018
    17.3
    AS51
    ASL AU
    03/10/2018
    2.8571
    RTY
    KRNY US
    02/10/2018
    16
    As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is affected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements.
    How do dividend adjustments work? 
      This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  4. JamesIG
    Trump to impose an additional 10% tariff duty on China rising to 25% next year if no deal is reached. China's yuan down on the back of trade war talks, whilst a stimulus package helps support the equity market. Gold's typical 'safe haven' status isn't re enforced this time around, with flow seen into the USD over the precious metal. Nickel, aluminium and bellwether metal copper hit on the LME by the $200bn tariff. Oil drops on the same news. Mining shares also hit as a result and its likely we’ll see some FTSE and European shares gap down on the open.. In the EM space political uncertainty is driving down coffee prices, whilst the Indian rupee drops to near record lows despite PMs best efforts. Elon Musk's SpaceX has named a Japanese billionaire as its first tourist they’ll fly around the moon.  Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has invested $1bn in a Tesla rival, Lucid motors.
    Asian overnight: Asian markets performed remarkably well overnight, with the Hang Seng and ASX 200 providing the two sour notes on an otherwise resilient session. Chinese markets rose despite Trump implementing 10% tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods which will will start on September 24. The decision comes in spite of China's warning that they would not engage in scheduled trade talks if the US implemented these tariffs. This would rise to 25% next year if no deal is reached, and the US has further warned that if China retaliates, it would pursue tariffs on another $267bn worth of imports from China. 
    To an extent this largely writes off any hopes of a resolution in the near-term and instead heightens the risk of Chinese retaliation. However it seems today’s news was largely baked into the price, thus muting the effect. While US markets were weaker overnight, US Index futures are trading marginally firmer this morning and Chinese equity markets significantly firmer today. Elsewhere, the RBA minutes pointed towards a bank which has no inclination to raise rates anytime soon.
    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, there are precious few notable economic releases of note, thus shifting the focus back onto the Chinese trade concerns alongside Brexit.
    South Africa:  Commodity prices are under some pressure this morning while the rand has managed to claw back some further strength against the greenback. BHP Billiton is trading 0.4% lower in Australia suggestive of a weaker start for local diversified resource counters. Tencent Holdings is up 0.2% in Asia, suggestive of a marginally positive start for major holding company naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Spire Healthcare said that pre-tax profit fell 7.9% for the first half, to £8.2 million, while revenue was down 1.1% to £475.6 million. Full-year guidance was also cut, to £120-£125 million.   Ocado reported an 11.5% rise in retail revenue for Q3 to £349 million, while average orders per week rose 11.4% to 283,000.  Centrica upgraded to buy at Goldman
    Fresnillo upgraded to top pick at RBC
    Merlin upgraded to buy at SocGen
    Polymetal upgraded to outperform at RBC
    Investec maintain buy on Barloworld with a target price of 14400c
    Investec upgrades Distell to buy with a target price of 15000c
    CYBG downgraded to hold at Berenberg
    NCC downgraded to hold at SEB Equities
    Vifor Pharma cut to neutral at JPMorgan
    Moody's has placed MTN on review for downgrade 
    IGTV featured video
    Information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary. 
  5. JamesIG
    BoE raised rates yesterday in a universal vote for a 0.25 percent increase. Apple wins the race to the first trillion dollar company valuation in history closing up 3% on the day, 35c above the required $207.04 a share mark. Yes, that's trillion with 12 zeros as quoted in the title. US dollar at 2-week high as trade war dents confidence. Sonos Inc traded in a range as large as 35% (low to high) in debut IPO. Oil prices steady supported by speculators and traders placing new hedges in the futures market ahead of key US inventory data. Non-farm payrolls today at 1:30pm with an estimate of 192k, previously 213k. Average earnings expected to rise by 0.3%. Unemployment rate expected to drop to 3.9% from 4%.  Asian overnight: Trade fears continue to dominate in Asia, with the Chinese markets leading the losses as markets prepare for a potential raft of tariffs on a further $200 billion worth of Chinese exports to the US. Apple hit $1 trillion market cap yesterday, with the news boosting stocks across many of the region. However, that tech boost failed to translate through to the Asian session. Data-wise, Australian retail sales remained stable at 0.4%, despite expectations of a slight decline. We also saw the Chinese Caixin manufacturing PMI fall to 52.8 from 53.9.
    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, today sees the heavy hitters come out on the economic front, with the UK services PMI reading due to bring substantial speculation over the UK economy’s largest sector. This will also have a knock-on effect upon GDP expectations. This PMI theme also carries into the US session, where the ISM non-manufacturing PMI reading comes out for the US economy. However, the biggest event of the day comes in the form of the US jobs report, with markets expecting to see payrolls move slightly lower and earnings to tick higher. On the corporate calendar, watch out for earnings reports from the likes of Berkshire Hathaway, and Kraft Heinz to close out the week.
    South Africa: Gains in US equity markets last night are being tempered by mostly weaker Asian markets this morning, lending itself to the suggestion of a marginally positive start for the local bourse today. The US dollar has firmed to put some pressure on commodity prices, particularly that of gold which nears the psychological $1200/oz mark. The rand has weakened against the majors furthering losses in emerging market currencies, as the suggestion of a constitutional change by the ANC, in lieu of land expropriation without compensation, weighs on investor sentiment. BHP Billiton is down 1.7% in Australia alluding to a softer start for local resource counters. Tencent Holdings is up 2% in Asia, alluding to a similar start for locally listed major holding company Naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    10am – eurozone retail sales (June): expected to rise 1.7% YoY from 1.4%. Market to watch: EUR crosses

    1.30pm – Canada trade balance (June): expected to see deficit narrow to C$2.05 billion from C$2.77 billion. Market to watch: CAD crosses

    1.30pm – US non-farm payrolls (July): payrolls forecast to fall to 195K from 213K, while the unemployment rate falls to 3.9% from 4%. Average hourly earnings to be 0.3% MoM. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses

    3pm – US ISM non-mfg PMI (July): forecast to fall to 59 from 59.1. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    RBS saw an attributable profit of £96 million in the three months to June, beating pessimistic forecasts of a £741 million loss. This brings first half profits to £888 million. Total revenues for H2 also beat market expectations, coming in £200 million above expectations, at £3.4bn. The firm payed their first dividend since being bailed out by the government, with an interim dividend of 2p per share due once they confirm the size of the US Department of Justice fine. IAG saw a sharp rise in half-year profits after tax and exceptional items, rising to €1.41 billion compared with €607 million. EPS also surged higher, rising to 65.9 cents from 27.5 cents. Total revenue gains were more muted, rising 3.1% to €11.2 billion. Looking ahead, the firm expects to see operating profits rise on a year-on-year basis at current fuel prices and exchange rates. Mondi Ltd Interim results showed basic underlying earnings of 89.2 euro cents per share, up 26% Rolls-Royce upgraded to buy at SocGen
    HelloFresh upgraded to overweight at JPMorgan
    Intesa upgraded to buy at SocGen
    Metro AG upgraded to hold at HSBC
    Macquarie upgrades AECI to outperform with a target price of 12800c
    Renaissance Capital upgrade  African Rainbow Mineralsto buy with a target price of 15000c
    H&R downgraded to sell at DZ Bank
    MorphoSys cut to neutral at Oddo BHF
    Saipem downgraded to hold at HSBC
    Valneva downgraded to reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Featured Video
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  6. JamesIG
    Asian session solid on reduced trade war fears. UK equity markets follow suit, along with a strong bidding war emerging for Sky, giving a green day for the FTSE yesterday and a positive start to the day today.  However data from China today showing a record trade surplus risks further inflaming trade tensions.  Trump is visiting the UK and has said that PM May is executing Brexit incorrectly. Trump's comments suggest May's Brexit plan is likely to kill hopes of a US trade deal. Brent crude sees it's biggest decline in 2 years, dropping as much as 6.9% yesterday. Earning season is kicking off in the US. Featured IGTV video below.  Asian overnight: Trade fears continue to recede, as they have done ever since Tuesday night’s brief panic, with a solid session from Asian markets following on from a good day for US equities.  A softer tone from China and their willingness to resume trade talks with the US is helping a risk on environment as most markets extend near term gains at present. While global equity markets are trading mostly firmer overnight, China's Shanghai Composite has given up 0.4% in early trade. Trade balance data from the region saw a larger than expected surplus realised as exports grew while imports slowed. A new record high for the Nasdaq confirmed the strength of this market, representing an interesting ‘safe haven’ from trade concerns. Australian stocks bucked the trend however, as financials dropped 0.7% to see the index drop 0.3% overall.
    Brent crude has seen it's biggest decline in 2 years dropping as much as 6.9% yesterday, a huge move for the black gold, on the back of Libya's state owned oil company saying that it is planning on increasing supply to match the current demand increase. They have also said they are looking at opening all four export channels that have been closed for the last month. This comes on the back of significant worries for energy traders with the Trump tariffs constantly knocking on the door, increasing fears that a knock on to global growth is just around the corner. Today sees the weekly Baker Hughes rig count from the US which is worth keeping an eye on.
    UK, US and Europe: President Trump has been causing mayhem in Europe already this week, and now he brings his special brand of magic to the UK. Having dined with the PM last night, today he is in the papers decrying her Brexit deal, setting us up for a fascinating press conference. The economic calendar is sparse today, but US earnings season gets underway in earnest with the release of bank earnings from Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
    South Africa: The Jse AllShare index is expected to open up modestly firmer this morning in line with the mostly positive short term global market sentiment. The rand has clawed back further strength against the majors, which should aid initial gains on local banking and retail counters. BHP Billiton is down 0,7% in Australia suggestive of a softer start for local diversified resource counters. Tencent Holdings is trading more or less flat in Asia, suggestive of a flat start for major holding company Naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    3pm – US Michigan consumer confidence index (July, preliminary): forecast to fall to 98.1 from 98.2. Market to watch: USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Workspace Group has seen lettings fall 5% in Q1, though enquiries have risen. Three refurbishment projects completed in June, and six more are expected in this financial year.  DCC said that Q1 profits were in line with expectations, and that it continues to expect profit o be weighted towards the second half of the year. It has also acquired two firms, Stampede and Kondor, with a combined enterprise value of £110 million.  Experian has started the year well, in line with forecasts, with overall revenue growth of 10% in Q1 (at constant exchange rates).  Ashmore saw assets fall $2.6 billion to $73.9 billion for the quarter to 30 June. Despite net inflows, a seasonal slowdown and a stronger US dollar had hit emerging markets hard.  Dawn (SA)  Revenue for FY18 declined by 19/1% to R3.5bn. In H1 F2018 revenue declined by 19,8% and in H2 F2018 revenue declined by 18,3%. Volumes in F2018 declined by 19,1% and price inflation remained flat. Diageo upgraded to buy at Goldman
    Evraz upgraded to buy at Renaissance Capital
    IMI upgraded to buy at HSBC
    Norwegian Air upgraded to buy at SEB Equities
    Featured Video from IGTV
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  7. JamesIG
    A look at our in-person seminars
    Earlier this summer we arranged our largest ever event in Scandinavia, with John Bollinger the creator of the technical Bollinger Bands indicator as a keynote speaker. Other speakers included Lee Sandford, an IG client and the founder of Trading College, and our local market analyst, Erik Hansén.
    The events, attended by about 450 prospective and live IG clients, were held in Oslo and Stockholm and followed a very similar ‘roadshow’ pattern which some of our other offices in Europe have put on for our client base. It’s always great to meet clients face to face and discuss trade ideas and market opportunity, as well as receive feedback and suggestions about our products.
    Have a look at a couple of the links posted at the end of this article to see if there are any live events, seminars, or webinars you can sign up to. Also make sure you’ve opted in to our emails so you can stay up to date and informed on any one off events we want to let you know about! You can find this in My IG Dashboard > Settings > Communication Preferences.
    When preparing for this event we listened to feedback from our client base who were keen on us bringing in successful traders and prominent people within the industry to talk about their experiences and share their trading insights.
     
    Trading strategies
    The evening started with IG’s own Erik Hansen welcoming everyone and introducing the presenters, as well as giving a quick overview of IG and our trading platform for those who hadn’t used it before. Erik also spoke about a few trading strategies and tools that help clients find interesting buy/sell opportunities, such as our market insights news and analysis, trading signals, and IG’s charting packages. We have a few strategy articles on IG.com which may be worth checking out to get a feel of the things discussed.
    Charting the value of technical analysis 16 candlestick patterns every trader should know How to trade a head and shoulders pattern Pivot point trading strategies Ichimoku Cloud trading strategies explained Next up was Lee Sandford who told us how he uses Fibonacci in his trading and how he combines it with MACD and stochastics. Lee also showed how he finds business opportunities with good risk reward by identifying interesting turning points in the market. There are a couple of videos posted below which may be interesting for some when we had Lee in the London office with IGTV, and an article on using the Fibonacci tool to trade.
    Last up was John Bollinger himself, who gave us a practical view on Bollinger Bands and trading techniques like "Pattern recognition", as well as setups like "W bottoms" and "squeeze". Bollinger Bands can be a great trading tool for the technical analysts amongst you and there are countless strategies and videos online which are worth having a look over. We have a special Bolling Bands article written by IG's own Joshua Mahony on the IG.com website to get you started. 

     
    Something of interest
    Each speaker was strong in their own right, but what really made the event a success was the breadth of the spectrum we were able to cover – ensuring there was something of interest to both beginners and advanced traders.
    We saw a good amount of 'chatter' across social media, both beforehand and during the event itself, and we received some great feedback from those who came and chatted afterwards.
    We really want to hear from people if they would like a similar event in their city. We are constantly working with our clients and listening to feedback to improve our offering, and seminars and events like this are no different.
    Drop us a message below if this is something you’d be interested in, and let us know the sort of event, or guest speakers, you would be keen on hearing from.

    Live events, seminars and online webinars near you
    Online webinars and courses can be found on IG Academy with live trading sessions available too. Make sure your email notifications are on if you want to keep up to date with one off events. Our South African offices have weekly in-person seminars in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Singaporean clients can check out in-person trading seminars (scroll down the page).
      Lee Sandford IGTV videos
     
    Hope you enjoyed this insight
    Happy trading
    James
  8. JamesIG
    A lack of trade war news is jumped on by Asian equity markets which rally for a third consecutive session. Boris Johnson follows David Davis and resigns from his position of Foreign Secretary sparking speculation of a rebellion. Oil dropped yesterday after Merkel and Li commit to Iran nuclear deal, before supply shortages and strikes in of oil workers in Norway aided the reversal for brent and WTI to finish up. Gold prices inch up amid the continued Brexit uncertainty, whilst subdued dollar assists commodities.  Asian overnight: Asian markets failed to sustain their overwhelmingly positive start to the week, with the overnight session seeing gains in Japanese and Hong Kong markets counteracted by weakness in China and Australia. Energy stocks were in focus amid a rise in crude prices, while the pound recovered much of the losses seen in the wake of yesterday’s political rollercoaster ride. On the data front, Chinese inflation data moved higher as expected, with CPI rising from 1.8% to 1.9%, while PPI jumped from 4.1% to 4.7%.
    UK, US and Europe: Despite two years of hashing out a brexit plan and continued discussions with the EU, and a confirmation by May that she had secured an agreement on Britains biggest foreign and trading policy in nearly 50 years, two UK MP's quit citing a change of heart in something the cabinet had agreed on last week.  Looking ahead, the UK remains in focus, with the first monthly GDP reading from the ONS set to be released. This comes amid the release of goods trade balance data, industrial, and manufacturing production figures, ensuring the pound remains in focus. Finally, watch out for the ZEW economic survey from Germany, with eurozone sentiment in the spotlight.
    South Africa: Global markets are trading mixed this morning as US Futures continue overnight gains in US equity markets, while the Shanghai Composite and Australia All Ordinaries Indices trade lower today. While the trade war narrative remains in markets investor focus will now find a further catalyst in the US earnings season which commences this week. Precious metal prices are trading relatively unchanged this morning, although base metal prices looked to have commenced with a rebound. The rand has firmed, particularly against a weakening pound following yesterday's resignation of UK ministers. Tencent Holdings is trading 2.3% lower in Asia, suggestive of a similar start today for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is trading 1.09% higher this morning in Australia, suggestive of a positive start for local diversified miners. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    9.30am – UK trade balance (May): deficit forecast to narrow to £1.2 billion from £5.3 billion. Market to watch: GBP crosses
    10am – German ZEW economic sentiment (July): forecast to rise to -14 from -16.1. Market to watch: EUR crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Ocado has seen a first half loss of £9 million, compared to a £7.7 million profit a year ago. Revenue was up 12.1% to £800 million. 
    Kier said that it expected underlying profit to be in line with forecasts, and while poor weather has hit activity, volumes have returned to levels in line with expectations. 
    TP ICAP has downgraded earnings forecasts for the year, due to rising costs and lower-than-forecast benefits from the recent merger. Finance costs will rise, as will staff compensation. 
    Tsogo Sun Holdings - Further to the cautionary announcements issued by Tsogo, the last of which was issued on  SENS on 31 May 2018, the board of directors of Tsogo  is pleased to announce that Akani Egoli Proprietary Limited, Silverstar Casino Proprietary Limited, Tsogo Sun Casinos Proprietary Limited, Tsogo Sun KwaZulu Natal Proprietary Limited and Tsogo Sun Newcastle Proprietary Limited, all  of which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tsogo and Tsogo, Listed Investments Proprietary Limited and Cassava Investments Proprietary Limited, have entered into a sale of shares and subscription agreement with Hospitality Property Fund Limited and its wholly-owned  subsidiary Merway Fifth Investments Proprietary Limited for the disposal by the  sellers to Hospitality of a portfolio of seven mixed-use casino precinct properties  for an aggregate purchase consideration of R23 billion.
    Acacia Mining upgraded to overweight at Barclays
    Ascential upgraded to add at Peel Hunt
    Chemring Group raised to overweight at Barclays
    UBS upgrade Barclays Africa from sell to neutral with a target price of 19700c
    Computacenter cut to underweight at Barclays
    Straumann cut to market perform at Bernstein
    Temenos cut to underweight at Barclays
    Featured Video from IGTV
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  9. JamesIG
    David Davis resigns from his poll position as Brexit secretary. Sterling feels the pinch.   Global equity markets rally on US jobs relief, whilst dollar falters.  Balanced U.S. jobs data suggest Fed can stay gradual on hikes  Oil inches up whilst gold gains on the weaker dollar. NYSE technology chief has jumped ship to join the Winklevoss ‘bitcoin billionaires’ cryptocurrency venture as their first CTO for Gemini. Asian overnight: Asian markets have seen substantial gains overnight, as we see a continued feedback from Friday’s strong US jobs data and easing fears over the US - China trade war. The US non-farm jobs report alluded to an improving labour market with 213 000 people being added t the payroll last month, where expectation was for 195000 people to have been added. The dollar has softened somewhat lifting commodity prices, in particular that of precious metals.
    UK, US and Europe: The overnight resignation of UK Brexit Secretary David Davis had added a focus onto the pound, with the weekend gap higher erased as markets seek to find answers of what this means for negotiations with the EU. British Chambers of Commerce believe forward looking indicators predicting the growth of the economy are not strong enough to warrant a rate rise at the next MPC meeting on August 2nd. A poll conducted by the group reviewed more than 6000 firms from the UK.
    The economic calendar looks relatively quiet for the day ahead, and that bullish theme overnight seems likely to carry through into European trade. Look out for appearances from ECB governor Mario Draghi, alongside BoE member Broadbent. 
    South Africa:  The rand has managed to claw back some of its recent losses, as outflows from emerging markets halt for the time being. We are expecting broad-based gains on the JSe initially, with a stronger rand aiding a rebound in local banking and retail counters. BHP Billiton is up 2% in Australia suggestive of a positive start for resource counters. Tencent Holdings is up 2.53% suggestive of a positive start for local holding company Naspers.   
    Company earnings: Pepsi will report second quarter results tomorrow, whilst fashion house Burberry and America's Delta Airlines will follow on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. We also see big banknames Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup finish the week on Friday.
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Centamin said that gold production fell 25% in Q2, due to low metal grades at its Egypt mine. Production was expected to be 505,000 to 515,000 ounces for the full year. 
    Purplebricks has completed the acquisition of Canadian estate agency Duproprio/Comfree, for £29.3 million.
    Murray & Roberts Holdings (SA) - Shareholders are referred to the announcement released on SENS today by Aveng regarding a notification received from ATON on Thursday, 5 July 2018, indicating that ATON and its wholly owned subsidiary ATON Austria Holdings GmbH, have in aggregate, acquired an interest in the ordinary shares of Aveng, such that the total interest in the ordinary shares of Aveng now amounts to 25.42% of the total issued ordinary shares of
    Aveng. 
    Beazley upgraded to top pick at RBC
    G4S upgraded to top pick at RBC
    Meggitt upgraded to buy at Berenberg
    TalkTalk upgraded to neutral at JPMorgan
    UBS upgrade Barclays Africa from sell to neutral with a target price of 19700c
    Nedbank Limited’s (SA) national scale rating was upgraded to ‘zaAA+’ from ‘zaAA’ by S&P
    Hargreaves Lansdown cut to underweight at JPMorgan
    Virgin Money cut to equal-weight at Barclays
    Featured Video from IGTV
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  10. JamesIG
    Expected index adjustments 
    Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 9th July 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect  your positions, please take a look at the video. 

    NB: Special Divs are highlighted in orange 
    Special Dividends
    No special dividends this week.
    How do dividend adjustments work? 
    As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is effected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements.
    This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  11. JamesIG
    Asian markets fall for the fourth day and major currencies are generally trading in a tight range.  MSCI Asia-Pacific index down 0.5% whilst Japan's Nikkei (the Japan 225) loses 1%. USD slightly softer going into US Initial Jobless Claims and FOMC minutes later today. Gold is holding steady before Fed minutes, whilst copper and zine are stuck near their one year lows on trade woes. Oil prices fall as Trump slams OPEC on twitter and blames the cartel for rising gas prices. This issue has been raised a number of times over the last few weeks as it could cause a major issue for the 'Trumphouse' going into the November midterms. Meanwhile China's duty on U.S. crude looms. Goldman Sachs are still bullish on Commodities as a whole and believe trade war fears have been overdone. "All of these concerns have been oversold. Even soybeans, the most exposed of all assets to trade wars, is now a buy." Clarification by the FCA on PPI compensation could means UK banks may have to add to the £45bn they’ve already set aside for claims. FMOC later today. Asian overnight: Asian markets traded lower once more, as market sentiment continues to suffer in anticipation of the impending Sino-US tariffs on $34 billion worth of goods. Yesterday’s tweet from Donald Trump calling for lower oil prices has had a knock on effect to the equity markets and tempered some of the gains seen through the week thus far.
    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the focus shifts from the UK to the US, with yesterday’s Independence Day meaning we will see markets on the other side of the Atlantic play catch up with Europe. Appearances from BoE governor Carney and ECB member Mersch will be the highlights for Europe, with markets more focused on the plethora of data points out of the US. ADP payrolls data, composite, manufacturing and services PMI figures in the afternoon pave the way for the latest FOMC minutes. Keep an eye out for the dollar for the impact of the days economic releases, while stock markets will be closely followed for how much they will follow yesterday’s lead in Europe.
    South Africa: After yesterdays public holiday, US futures are trading flat this morning while Asian markets continue to find short term pressure lending itself to a flat to lower start on our local bourse this morning. The dollar is trading relatively flat while commodity prices, which have a relatively large impact on the local SA index, trade mostly lower ahead of the US implementation of trade tariffs on China. BHP Billiton is trading 0.54% lower in Australia furthering the notion that we will see a softer start on locally listed resource counters today. Tencent Holdings is trading 0.5% lower on the Hang Seng, suggestive of a similar start for major holding company Naspers this morning. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    1.15pm – US ADP employment report (June): expected to rise to 180K from 175K. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    1.30pm – US initial jobless claims (w/e 30 June): forecast to be 221K from 227K. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    3pm – US ISM non-manufacturing PMI (June): forecast to fall to 58.2 from 58.6. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    4pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 29 June): expected to see stockpiles fall by 1.6 million barrels. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI
    7pm – FOMC minutes: these will provide further insight into the Fed’s decision to raise rates, as well as the shift on the committee that resulted in the dot-plot suggesting four rate hikes in 2018, from the previous three. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    China’s ZTE has received a 30 day trade ban relief from Trump. The US provide a third of the components needed by the smartphone manufacturer who have seen a 60% decline in share price wiping off $11bn from the company valuation since the trade war talks.
    Anglo American sees volatility spikes on take over rumours.
    Anglo American Platinum Limited (SA) has accepted an offer from Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited ("RBPlat") to purchase its 33% interest in the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine joint venture (“BRPM JV") for a total purchase consideration of R1.863 billion.
    Associated British Foods said its full-year outlook was unchanged, as improvement at Primark is cancelled out by weakness in its sugar division. Group revenue for the 40 weeks to 23 June was up 3% overall, and 2% at actual exchange rates. Primark sales were up 6% on last year, but AB Sugar revenue was 17% lower. 
    Purplebricks suffered an adjusted operating loss of £21.3 million, despite strong growth in the UK and Australia. This compares to a £5.1 million loss in 2017. 
    Glencore has announced a $1 billion share buyback, which will run from today until the end of the year. 
    EasyJet carried 7.9 million passengers in June, up 2.3% from a year ago, while the load factor rose to 95.4% from 94.8%. 
    Aegon upgraded to buy at HSBC
    Bauer upgraded to buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Tullow upgraded to overweight at Barclays
    Daimler upgraded to buy at Bankhaus Lampe
    Hapag-Lloyd downgraded to neutral at Citi
    Kappahl downgraded to reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Munich Re downgraded to neutral at JPMorgan
    Soco downgraded to underperform at RBC
    Featured Video from IGTV
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  12. JamesIG
    Asian overnight: Another bearish session overnight saw Chinese and Hong Kong indices lead the decline, with the first round of tariffs on Chinese goods set to take effect on Friday. The recent decline in the yuan was arrested, with strong dollar selling pressure from Chinese banks looking like intervention from the Chinese authorities. Australian data came in mixed, with a strong retail sales reading counteracted by a lower than expected trade balance figure. Meanwhile, the Chinese Caixin services PMI rose sharply, driving the measure to rise from 52.9 to 53.9.

    UK, US and Europe: The services PMI theme looks set to continue, with European nations releasing their own version throughout the morning. The big focus will be upon the UK services PMI figure, with the release playing a key part in dictating GDP estimates for Q2. Meanwhile, the US markets are closed as the country celebrates Independence Day.
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    9.30am – UK services PMI (June): expected to fall to 53 from 54. Markets to watch: FTSE 100/250, GBP crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Sainsbury’s said that sales rose 0.8% in Q1, and were up 0.2% on a like-for-like basis. Price cuts had helped to boost performance. 
    SIG reported a 0.6% rise in first-half revenue, with currency improvements offsetting bad weather. Revenue was flat on a like-for-like basis. 
    National Express has secured a €1 billion contract to operate buses in Morocco, with 500 buses carrying 109 million passengers a year across 61 routes.  
    Topps Tiles suffered a 2.3% drop in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 1 July.
    BN FP upgraded to outperform at RBC
    GFT upgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Petra Diamonds upgraded to outperform at RBC
    Brunello Cucinelli downgraded to hold at Berenberg
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
     
  13. JamesIG
    Asian overnight: Sharp declines overnight are pushing the bulls out the way and the overnight session looks to be paving the way for a bearish start to the week in Europe, with circa 2% losses across Japanese and Chinese markets. The Hang Seng market was closed for a bank holiday while the Australian ASX 200 managed to limit the losses. Trade wars are back on the agenda as a key concern for markets, with a European Commission statement against car tariffs making little difference to sentiment for now. Data wise, we saw the Japanese Tankan manufacturing survey fall from 24 to 21, while the Chinese Caixin manufacturing PMI number moved slightly lower, to 51.0 (from 51.1).

    UK, US and Europe: The manufacturing focus remains today, with a host of final manufacturing PMI readings from a host of eurozone countries leading into the initial UK figure for June. With Canadian markets on holiday, the focus is on the US, where once again it is the manufacturing surveys which take precedence.
    South Africa: After strong gains on Friday, the local bourse looks set to open up weaker today after the Asian markets poor performance on Monday. Friday's gains can in part be attributed to quarter end window dressing, although the underlying market pressures of trade war concerns and a flight from emerging markets remain. A strengthening dollar is seeing precious metals, the rand, and oil trading lower this morning. BHP Billiton is trading 0.9% lower in Australia, suggestive of a softer start for local resource counters. The weaker rand is expected to weigh on local banking and retail counters on open. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    9.30am – UK mfg PMI (June): expected to fall to 53.5 from 54.4. Market to watch: GBP crosses
    10am – eurozone unemployment rate (May): forecast to fall to 8.4% from 8.5%. Market to watch: EUR crosses
    3pm – US ISM mfg PMI (June): expected to fall to 58.3 from 58.7. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Tesco has announced a strategic buying partnership with Carrefour, that will involve joint purchasing of own brand products and goods. 
    Meggitt upgraded annual revenue guidance, thanks to a stronger than forecast performance in Q2. Organic revenue growth for the year through December is expected to be 4-6% from 2-4%. 
    Aeroports de Paris raised to overweight at JPMorgan
    Chargeurs upgraded to buy at AlphaValue
    Cloetta upgraded to buy at SEB Equities
    Novo Nordisk upgraded to outperform at Bernstein
    Investec upgrade Capitec Holdings (SA) to buy with a target price of 103400c
    Investec upgrade Impala Platinum (SA) to buy with a target price of 2500c
    Eurofins Scientific cut to reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Infineon downgraded to underweight at Barclays
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  14. JamesIG
    Expected index adjustments 
    Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 11th June 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect  your positions, please take a look at the video. 

    NB: Special Divs are highlighted in orange 
    Special Dividends
    You can see the special dividends listed below. Unfortunately we do not have granular insight on the effect on the index for the index in question, however the below maybe helpful for some. Please note the dates below are the stock adjustments in the underlying, whilst the index div adjustments are taken out the day before on the IG platform at the cash close.
    Index: NIFTY
    Effective: 14/06/18
    Summary: Special Div of 1000
    How do dividend adjustments work? 
    As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is effected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements.
     
    This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
     
  15. JamesIG
    Asian overnight: A mixed session in overnight markets came after the White House pulled plans to restrict Chinese acquisition of US technology, helping ease trade war fears that continue to dominate market sentiment. Interestingly, we still saw Chinese stocks fall, with the Shenzhen and Shanghai composite indices trading within the red. Once again, we saw the Australian ASX 200 gain ground amid a resurgence for crude prices. The Yen was largely flat over the session, with a weak retail sales reading (0.6% from 1.5%) offset by demand for the haven currency. Meanwhile, the RBNZ decided to keep rates unchanged as expected, with no shift in rates expected for some time yet.

    UK, US and Europe: The focus for the European session will be the latest EU summit, where Brexit is likely to remain one of the key topics of discussion, alongside immigration issues which are a thorn in the side of Angela Merkel. The US session sees the final US GDP reading released alongside unemployment claims. However, for the most part markets are likely to instead look to Donald Trump and China for a lead on market bias.
    South Africa: We are seeing a firming US dollar and US Treasury Yields trading while emerging market currencies and commodities (excluding oil) under pressure once again. In turn we are expecting a lower open on the Jse Top 40 Index this morning. Tencent HOldings is 0.3% lower on the Hang Seng, suggestive of a softer start for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton on the other hand has extended short term gains which is expectant of a positive start for its local listing in South Africa. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    10am – eurozone business confidence (June): forecast to fall to 1.2 from 1.5. Market to watch: EUR crosses
    1pm – German CPI (June, preliminary): expected to fall to 1.9% from 2.2% YoY. Market to watch: EUR crosses
    1.30pm – US GDP (Q1, final), initial jobless claims (w/e 23 June): growth expected to be 1.2% YoY and 0.1% QoQ. Jobless claims to rise to 219K from 218K. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    JD Sports said that it continued to be confident about the outlook for the current financial year. Further expansion, with emphasis on new international stores, suggest the group is on track to meet full-year expectations.  
    Greene King reported an 11.2% fall in adjusted pre-tax profit for the full year, to £243 million, in line with forecasts.  
    BP is to acquire Chargemaster, the UK’s largest charging network for electric cars. It operates more than 6,500 charging points across the UK.  
    Tullow Oil said that it continued to perform well in 2018, with first-half production averaging 87,400 barrels per day, in line with forecasts. 
    Wilson Bayly Holme - Ovcon Ltd has said that Lower activity levels persist within local (Africa) building markets, particularly in Gauteng. Performance from the Byrne Group in London was in line with expectations over the second six months.Construction and materials saw strong competition and aggressive pricing persisted during the second half of the year which combined with an increase in non-payment by contractors due to the challenging environment.
    BP upgraded to buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Infineon upgraded to buy at DZ Bank
    KAZ Minerals upgraded to outperform at BMO
    OMV upgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Suez downgraded to hold at Berenberg
    Summit Therapeutics cut to hold at Panmure Gordon & Co
    IGTV - promoted video
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  16. JamesIG
    Chinese markets hit with yuan slipping to 6 month low and stock market and leading index falling. Oil sees significant positive price action as US pressures allies on Iranian crude oil. Trump hits out at Harley Davidson motorcycles for planning a move of U.S shores on the back of trade tariffs. 'Trading the trade wars' video by IGTV and Bryan Noble is today's featured video below. Gold slips as investors turn to rival safe haven assets. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency consolidating at the support, however no signs or reasons for a bounce as presence. Shares in Tesco and Sainsburys slide on loss of market share.  Asian Overnight: Chinese and Hong Kong indices led Asian markets lower overnight, with a sharp drop in the Shenzhen composite and Hang Seng providing the stand out underperformers amid largely flat trade in Japan and Australia. Rising oil prices provided a boost to energy stocks, with the US putting pressure on other countries to end the purchase of Iranian crude. In particular, this rise in crude prices helped shift the Australian ASX 200 out of the red, with the energy sector rising 1.3%.
    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the European session looks likely to focus on the Bank of England once again, coming off the back of last week’s rate decision. An appearance from Carney accompanies the latest BoE financial stability report. The US session will look towards core durable goods orders for their lead, with the latest trade balance data also taking on an important role given recent disagreements over trade. The crude market is also back in focus, with the latest US inventories due out later in the day. NZD traders should also be aware of the latest RBNZ rate decision tonight.
    When it comes to the Trump trade war tariffs JPMorgan economist David Hensley has stated that they "remain of the view that a large scale "trade war" remains a low probability though the odds of it happening appear to have increased". US Futures and Asian equity markets are trading lower this morning while the dollar and US treasury yields trade firmer. The trade war rhetoric generally continues, although US President Donald Trump looks to have softened his stance slightly saying that he may look to a less confrontational approach with China.
    South Africa: Precious and base metals trade mostly lower this morning while the rand is slightly softer against the majors. Oil prices have gained post the OPEC decision to raise output as well as supply disruptions in Canada. Tencent Holdings is trading 1.2% lower on the Hang Seng suggestive of a softer start for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is up 1.8% in Australia suggestive of a positive start for the local listing thereof. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    1.30pm – US durable goods orders (May): expected to rise 0.2% from -1.7% MoM, while excluding transportation orders forecast to rise 0.5% from 0.9%. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses

    3pm – US pending home sales (May): forecast to rise 0.1% from -1.3% MoM. Market to watch: USD crosses

    3.30pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 22 June): stockpiles expected to fall by 5.1 million barrels after falling 5.9 million barrels a week earlier. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Inmarsat drops over 12% as Eutelsat, the company who were poised for a take over bid, back out just hours after their initial interest as reported in the IG Community EMEA morning briefing yesterday. 
    Whitbread reported a 3.2% rise in Q1 sales, thanks to new hotel capacity and additional Costa stores. However, sales were down 1.3% in the UK on a like-for-like basis. Progress continues on the Costa de-merger, with progress on core infrastructure and efficiency work.  
    Ultra Electronics downgraded its first-half profit guidance due to cost overruns at its US defence unit. Expectations for full-year operating profit has been cut by £4-6 million. 
    Bunzl said that it expected revenue for the first half to be 11% higher at constant exchange rates, while spending on acquisitions so far this year has been £105 million. 
    Global Credit Ratings (“GCR”) has affirmed the national scale ratings of A-(ZA) and A1-(ZA) to Transaction Capital Limited (SA) in the long term and short term respectively, with the outlook accorded as Stable.
    Deutsche Bank maintains buy rating on Vodacom (SA) but reduces target to 15000c
    Adecco upgraded to outperform at RBC
    Sainsbury upgraded to overweight at Barclays
    Carnival Plc upgraded to buy at Berenberg
    Petrofac upgraded to buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
    BMW downgraded to reduce at AlphaValue
    Gima TT downgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Rubis downgraded to hold at Berenberg
    ICG Enterprise Trust downgraded to hold at Jefferies
    Featured video
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  17. JamesIG
    USDJPY falls on the back of an intensifying trade war dispute. ‘Fang’ stocks and the heavily tech centric Nasdaq slump on the same trade war fears. Turkish lira gains from yesterday gives further reason for overseas investment in Turkey to remain wary. USDTRY looking like it could have entered a period of consolidation after rising nearly 25% from the beginning of the year. Oil prices rise on the Libyan oil export uncertainty, however OPEC still the overarching dampener with plans to raise output.  Gold inching down on US rate hike expectation. Bitcoin at critical level of support previously hit in April and February 2018, and previously November 2017. Asian Overnight: Asian markets traded largely in the red overnight, as marginal gains throughout Japanese indices provided the one standout performer of the session. This follows yesterday's significant market declines where US Indices fell in excess of 1% (Nasdaq more than 2%). Continued fears over the impending breakdown in trade between China and the US ensured that Chinese equities were the worst performer, with the Shenzhen composite trading over 1% lower. On the data front, the BoJ core CPI reading failed to rise as expected, with the data set showing underlying inflation remaining at 0.5%.
    UK, US and Europe: Another quiet day on the economic calendar sees the release of US consumer confidence this afternoon as the only major event of note. That is not to say that market volatility is going to be low, as evident by yesterday’s sharp selloff throughout European and US indices despite a near empty economic calendar.
    South Africa: While trade war talks still linger markets look to have stopped the hemorrhaging for now and the local bourse looks to have already priced in much of the overnight weakness. Commodity prices remain depressed and the dollar firm. The rand remains weak although off its worst levels finding directional catalysts from factor external rather than domestic at the moment. BHP Billiton is trading 1% lower in Australia suggestive of a softer start for local diversified resources. Tencent Holdings is 0.3% lower on the Hang Seng suggesting a flat to slightly lower start for major holding company Naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    3pm – US consumer confidence (June): expected to hold at 128. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Inmarsat, the privately listed communications company, has confirmed its considering a bid from Eutelsat. This has helped push the stock, which previously saw prices of 1100p in 2015 and as low as 340p in April of this year, trade above 630p. Eutelsat has until 5pm on the 23rd July to confirm an intention or rule itself out for 6 months.
    Health conscious millennials have pushed Whittards of Chelsea back in the black yesterday to a net profit of just over a quarter of a million pounds, up from a net loss of £1.4m in 2016. The craze for herbal teas amongst the younger generation, for many at the cost of caffeine based drinks such as coffee, has been an important factor in the turn around.
    Petrofac said that it continued to trade in line with forecasts, with the year-to-date order book reaching $1.8 billion. 
    Carpetright said that it suffered an annual loss of £71 million for the year, while borrowing rose sharply due to restructuring costs. Debt rose from £10 million to £54 million. 
    Polymetal has started its new gold mine in Kazazkstan ahead of schedule. Mining activities had reached full design capacity, and ‘significant’ cash flow and net income contribution should start in Q4 this year. 
    ASML upgraded to add at AlphaValue
    Andritz upgraded to buy at Goldman
    Renault upgraded to equal-weight at Morgan Stanley
    Royal Mail upgraded to sector perform at RBC
    Eutelsat downgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Gazprom GDRs cut to neutral at JPMorgan
    Deutsche Bank maintains buy rating on Vodacom (SA) but reduces target to 15000c
    Featured video
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  18. JamesIG
    Global equity markets falter on trade war talk. Turkish lira gains on a presidential win for Recap Tayyip Erdogan. Oil sheds it's gains as OPEC agree on output hike. Saudi Arabia lifts the ban on female drivers which could generate up to $90bn for their economy according to Bloomberg Finance Britain sees its two year anniversary from the Brexit referendum vote. GBP down 11% in that time helping buoy the FTSE and companies who generate the majority of their revenue from overseas. Asian Overnight: Asian markets traded in the red once again overnight, as trade wars fears continue to take their toll on global risk sentiment. With the US said to be preparing to restrict Chinese investment into US business, while warning they could place 20% tariffs on EU cars, there are no signs to say that the trade war is letting up any time soon. China has also announced plans to free up another $100bn in the banking system, perhaps another admission of a slowing economy. The weekend election in Turkey has seen the incumbent president win as expected, with sweeping changes being implemented that will now ensure he holds substantially more powers, and for an unlimited term. Nevertheless, the stability that this promises to bring over the near-term has helped boost the lira, which rose 2% overnight.
    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the German Ifo business climate figure represents the biggest data point on a day that is light of any particularly significant releases. As such, there is likely to be a continue focus on trade considerations with the US.
    South Africa: Commodity prices are under pressure, including oil which has offset Fridays gains which followed the OPEC announcement to increase production by 1m barrels per day (Saudi Arabia and Russia had previously suggested raising output by 1.5m barrels per day). The rand has managed to claw back some strength after trading around oversold territory for the last few weeks. Tencent Holdings is trading 1.5% lower on the Hang Seng suggestive of a similar start today for major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is trading 1.4% higher in Australia, suggestive of a firmer start for local diversified resource counters.  
    Shares look ahead this week: Carnival in America will release second quarter earnings today, whilst Tuesday will see the UK listed Northgate release full year results and IHS Markit and the US Lennar will publish quarterlies. Costa Coffee owned Whitebread have a trading update on Wednesday which is worth looking out for, whilst America will yield General Mills and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Hunting and Tullow Oil have Thursday trading statements, whilst Walgreens Boots Alliance will report on Thursday. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    9am – German IFO index (June): business climate index expected to fall to 101.7 from 102.2. Market to watch: EUR crosses
    1.30pm – US Chicago Fed index (May): forecast to fall to 0.1 from 0.3. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    3pm – US new home sales (May): expected to rise 0.5% MoM from -1.5%. Market to watch: USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Stobart Group has said that it has issued a note convening an EGM next month relating to its boardroom dispute. It has recommended that investors vote against the resolution to change the chairman.  IWG has confirmed that it has received an approach from Terra Ferma.  Petards Group has won a contract renewal for provision of software licences and support services for Network Rail.  Accor upgraded to hold at Berenberg
    BinckBank upgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Rexel upgraded to buy at HSBC
    Rolls-Royce upgraded to hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
    Heidelberger Druck downgraded to reduce at AlphaValue
    Suedzucker downgraded to sell at Goldman
    Please note: This information has been prpared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  19. JamesIG
    Oil seeing volatility ahead of a crucial meeting for OPEC on production. 'History of Crude Oil' video below. Emerging markets aren't helped by trade war talks and slip to a 9 month low. Trade war fallout starting to be seen with Daimler's profit warning likely to be linked to the imposed tariffs.  Relatively large macro economic day today. Give a once over to the calendar below and plan your day. Asian Overnight: Asian markets were largely back in the red overnight, as the market fear that has been dictating the state of play globally returned once more. Japanese markets also traded lower, despite a rise in the manufacturing PMI survey overnight, with the May figure also revised higher. Oil is going to be the talk of the town today, with the OPEC meeting reaching its conclusion. The question is whether we see a production rise by above or below 1M bpd. This is a rough the threshold that differentiates a result that is seen as a victory for Iran (below 1M), or Saudi Arabia (above 1M).

    UK, US and Europe: The PMI theme is going to stick around throughout the morning today, with a whole host of eurozone PMI figures released from the likes of France, Germany, and the eurozone. The big event of the day is certainly going to be the OPEC meeting in Vienna, where volatility across the energy space looks all but guaranteed. In the US session, look out for the Canadian CPI figures, alongside manufacturing and services PMI readings out of the US.
    South Africa: The dollar has softened overnight to give some relief to the rand and emerging market currencies. BHP Billiton is trading 0.7% lower in Australia suggesting a weaker open for the local listing and perhaps diversified resource counters. Tencent Holdings is trading 0.2% lower in Asia, suggestive of a flat to softer start for major holding company Naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    8am – 9am: French, German, eurozone mfg & services PMIs (June, flash): these initial readings provide a gauge of activity in key parts of these economies. Markets to watch: eurozone indices, EUR crosses

    1.30pm – Canada CPI (May): price growth expected to be 2.2% YoY, in line with last month, and 0.2% MoM, from 0.3% in April. Market to watch: CAD crosses

    2.45pm – US mfg & services PMI (June, flash): manufacturing PMI to fall to 54 from 56.6, and services to rise to 56.5 from 56.4. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Featured video
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Playtech has received approval from the Italian regulator to buy the rest of the shares of Snaitech not currently owned by the firm.  Allianz Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg
    Telenor Upgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan
    Zurich Ins. Downgraded to Hold at Berenberg
    Ceconomy Downgraded to Hold at Commerzbank
    Equinor Downgraded to Sell at DZ Bank
    Heidelberger Druck Downgraded to Reduce at AlphaValue
     
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  20. JamesIG
    Asian market bounced a little on Wednesday morning on continued trade war talks. In the Chinese markets regulators sought to calm the markets. Those with large Chinese export books such as Boeing and machinery manufacturers Caterpillar were hit the hardest with Trump's threat of further tariffs. These may be ones to watch going forward as the trade war unfolds. The ‘big four’ accounting scandal continues with internal report from a Lloyd’s bank employee detailing allegations of misconduct by senior bank staff and KPMG auditors. A drop in US crude inventories and the loss of storage capacity in Libya provided some recovery to oil prices. Bitcoin down around 2am BST after a South Korean exchange was hacked, however we have broadly seen consolidation around these levels for the last 10 daily candles. Think tanks in the UK call on legalisation of cannabis for medical use after high profile case of a young boy who was hospitalised after his cannabis oil, used to aid severe epilepsy, was confiscated. You can see the best marijuana stocks to watch on IG.com Asian Overnight: A largely bullish session overnight saw gains for a number of markets, despite the continued concern over a potential trade war between the US and China. The reasons for this mornings gains are as yet unclear, although there is some suggestion of easing trade war tensions as being the catalyst (we are however not yet convinced of this). This breather in the recent global stock market decline has provided welcome respite, yet issues remain. Oil prices also moved higher, with the OPEC meeting looking increasingly likely to provide volatility, with Iran expected to refuse any production increase, as proposed by Saudi Arabia. 

    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, a roundtable discussion including governors from the RBA, BoE, BoJ, and Fed will be a significant event which will certainly be watched closely for signs of any clues as to future monetary policy changes. Also keep an eye out for the latest existing home sales and crude inventory figures.
    South Africa: Global markets are finding some short term reprieve as US Futures and Asian markets rebound this morning.  The rand has clawed back some strength after the severe weakening we saw yesterday, which could help a partial rebound in local financial counters this morning. BHP Billiton has added 0.75% in Australia this morning, suggestive of a positive start for local retailers. Tencent Holdings has added 1.3% on the Hang Seng suggestive of a similar gains for locally listed Naspers. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    2.30pm – ECB Central Bank Forum, Portugal: the ECB will host central bankers from around the globe, with speeches from RBA governor Lowe, ECB president Draghi, BoJ governor Kuroda and Fed chair Powell. Markets to watch: AUD/USD, EUR/USD, USD/JPY, US Dollar Index
    3pm – US existing home sales (May): forecast to rise 1.5% MoM from a 2.5% drop. Market to watch: USD crosses
    3.30pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 15 June): expected to rise by 690,000 barrels from a 4.14 million barrel drop a week earlier. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI
    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Featured video: BCC predicts worst UK growth since 2009
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Sports Direct has sold its interest in US retailer Finish Line.  Sirius Minerals has signed an agreement to sell its fertiliser product to African firm Intercontinental Trade DMCC Dubai. The agreement will last for seven years.  Berkeley Group has raised profit guidance for the two years to 30 April 2019, by £75 million to £1.575 billion. Pre-tax profit for its full-year was up 15.1% to £934.9 million, Revenue was £2.7 billion from £2.72 billion a year earlier.  Tesla has seen volatility the first half of the week as Musk accuses employees of hacks and code changes to production line software under false usernames and unauthorised data exports to third parties. Disney and 21st Century Fox pledge increases to sky and sky news funding, with the later being divested to Disney, to help push through the Fox/Sky merger. Footasylum down over 50% after profit warnings and slashed 2019 growth forecast by Analysts. Full year results show profit before tax down to £1.9m from £8.1m last year due to cost on the back of the companies inclusion in the AIM market. Grindrod (SA) Shareholders are advised that total earnings per share for the six months ending 30 June 2018 is
    expected to be positive (an increase of more than 100%). The prior year comparative period, being
    the six months that ended 30 June 2017, reflected a loss per share of 11.5 cents Sandvik Upgraded to Buy at Goldman
    JP Morgan maintain overweight rating on Naspers (SA) with a target price of 450000c
    SSE Downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC
    Ringmetall Downgraded to Hold at Montega
    SKF Downgraded to Sell at Goldman
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  21. JamesIG
    Asian stocks slide on further trade war tariffs. Yen, treasuries and gold gain as traditional safe havens. UK incomes for those in employment rise at the highest rate since the financial crisis according to IHS Markit yesterday. CYBG confirmed yesterday it had agreed a £1.7bn tie up with Virgin Money. Oil prices whiplash, but ultimately fall on expectations that OPEC and Russia will gradually increase output after withholding supply since 2017. Payment company Square has been awarded a BitLicence to operate in New York. BTC trades at $6700, and ETH at $515 Asian Overnight: Weakness in overnight markets came as no surprise after Donald Trump declared another $200 billion worth of goods that would be hit by a 10% tariff after China imposed a like for like $50 billion package of US goods to be targeted. This trade war is set to kick in on July 6, and instead of making progress towards a solution, it looks as if relations between the two biggest economies in the world are instead deteriorating. Meanwhile, crude prices rallied ahead of Fridays OPEC meeting, with rumours that a production hike will be smaller than expected.

    UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the current themes impacting markets are likely to remain in focus, with few major economic events of note. Appearances from ECB economist Praet, and Fed member Bullard will provide a central bank focus. Meanwhile, the US session sees a focus on construction with the release of building permits and housing starts data.
    South Africa: The local bourseis expected to open up significantly lower this morning following on from soft US Futures and a rampant decline in China (-3.45%) and Hong Kong (-2.76%). Emerging markets are bearing the brunt of the weakness today from the 'Trump Tariffs', as reflected in their respective currency declines. The rand looks to be fast approaching the R14/$ mark. Tencent Holdings is trading 3.17% lower on the Hang Seng, suggestive of a similar move in major holding company Naspers. BHP Billiton is trading 1.2% lower in Australia , which combined with weaker base metal prices is suggestive of an initial decline in local diversified miners. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Featured video: 'Be wary’ of Carney’s guidance
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Ashtead said that underlying pre-tax profit was 21% higher at £927.3 million for the full year, and revenues were up 21% at £3.42 billion. The dividend was boosted 20% to 33p.  McCarthy & Stone has issued a profit warning, downgrading its forecasts and announcing the departure of the CEO. Legal completions are forecast to be in the 2100-2300 range, compared to 2302 year-on-year.  Debenhams has issued another profit warning, saying that full-year pre-tax profit will now be £35-40 million, versus consensus forecasts of £50.3 million.  Beiersdorf upgraded to neutral at JPMorgan
    Ferrexpo upgraded to buy at HSBC
    Verbund upgraded to reduce at AlphaValue
    JP Morgan maintain overweight rating on Naspers (SA) with a target price of 450000c
    Edenred downgraded to neutral at MainFirst
    Galp downgraded to sector perform at RBC
    Hornbach Baumarkt cut to reduce at Commerzbank
    Informa downgraded to hold at Peel Hunt
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  22. JamesIG
    Asian shares fall as the Trump 'tit-for-tat-tariff' goes ahead. China responds. Ex-Japan Asia down 0.5%, Nikkei down 0.7%. China and Hong Kong markets on holiday. Dollar eased from it's 3 week high, whilst euro remains subdued. The World Cup has kicked off with a record 32 teams taking part. Pared with great weather so far this month, and a strong forecast going forward, pubs have the potential to thrive. OPEC members in Vienna are to meet this week to decide on whether or not to end the oil production freeze. Members are split so a decision either way is likely to increase volatility and present a potential trade opportunity. BoE to set interest rates on Thursday. The banks MPC to meet earlier this week. Asian Overnight: Asian markets traded lower once again overnight, as fears over a trade war between the US and China continue to set the tone. Friday’s confirmation that we will see tariffs imposed of $50 billion worth of Chinese goods prompted the Chinese to set out a similar package in return imposing tariffs on 659 American products such as cars, soybeans and seafood. With both the Chinese and Hong Kong indices closed for a bank holiday, the focus thus turned to Japan, which fell sharply overnight despite a rise in imports and exports.
    UK, US and Europe: Crude prices will be one of the main markets to watch for the week, with prices tumbling ahead of Friday’s OPEC meeting. With the Chinese also indicating that their tariffs would include US crude, this further enhanced Friday’s selloff. A quiet day on the calendar front throughout Europe and the US sees markets retain focus on trade considerations. Central banks are likely to be the theme though, with appearances from Fed members Duke, Dudley, Bostic and Williams, coming alongside a Bundesbank monthly report and speech from Mario Draghi.
    South Africa: The local bourse looks set to open up lower this morning as global markets find short term pressure on the back of escalating trade war tensions. Commodity prices are trading lower with gold testing the $1280/oz level,  platinum the $885/oz and brent crude the $73/barrel mark. Base metals copper, zinc and aluminium all trade lower on the day. The rand is slightly firmer although still trading around its worst levels of the year. Conditions look particularly unfavourable for diversified resource counters today, further evidenced by BHP Billiton trading 2.4% lower in Australia. 
    Stock look ahead: Ashtead and Flybe are the ones to watch tomorrow as they release full year figures, whilst FedEx and Oracle in the US will release quarterly figures. Annual results for Severfield and Berkley will also be released on Wednesday and Micron Technology in the US publishes their quarterlies. Dixon Carphone will follow with annuals on Thursday. Quarterlies are expected from the UK's Carnival and the American Kroger on Thursday as well. 
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Featured video: How to trade a stock market crash
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Virgin Money has agreed an all-share takeover by CYBG, worth around £1.7 billion. CYBG will offer 1.2125 new shares for each Virgin Money share.  DS Smith reported a 17% rise in revenues for the year in constant currency terms, to £5.7 billion, while pre-tax profit was 8% higher at £292 million. The firm said it had seen good momentum so far in its new year.  PPC Ltd (SA) FY18 results showed headline earnings per share to have increased by 114c. Flybe expected to reveal widening losses tomorrow after a tough year and the 'beast from the east' remaining responsible for grounding nearly 1000 flights in the three months leading into March 31st. Other airlines worth watching. AB Foods upgraded to outperform at RBC
    Repsol upgraded to outperform at BBVA
    Cobham upgraded to overweight at Morgan Stanley
    Enav upgraded to overweight at Barclays
    JP Morgan maintain overweight rating on Naspers (SA) with a target price of 450000c
    Pernod Ricard downgraded to underperform at RBC
    Robit downgraded to hold at SEB Equities
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  23. JamesIG
    Expected index adjustments 
    Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 18th June 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect  your positions, please take a look at the video. 

    NB: Special Divs are highlighted in orange 
    Special Dividends
    No special dividends expected this week. 
    How do dividend adjustments work? 
    As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is effected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements.
    This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
  24. JamesIG
    US equity markets traded firmer overnight whilst Asian markets, for the most part, trade lower this morning Fed rate hike and FOMC meeting later today seems priced in US tariffs on Chinese goods reiterated by Washington Bitcoin falls to a 2 and a half month low on regulatory concerns  PwC facing a £10m fine over their poor BHS audit Tesla cuts 9% of staff with a refocused goal of profitability UK, US and Europe: A mixed affair in Asia saw gains in Japan overshadowed by losses across China, Hong Kong, and Australia. The boost provided by yesterday’s Trump-Kim summit seems to have been short-lived, with markets now turning their attention to the central banks and the continued trade tariff chat. First up it is the Fed, with the ECB and BoJ following in the final two days of the week. The dollar has continued to firm ahead of this evenings FOMC meeting and rates announcement and in turn, commodity prices continue to find short term pressure. Trade friction conitunes between American and China after Washington stated it is planning to release a list of $50bn worth of Chinese imports subject to a 25% tariff.
    In Europe there is likely to be a significant degree of interest around the UK CPI figure, with headline inflation expected to remain steady despite the wider trend of falling CPI over the first six-months of the year. Also keep an eye out for the employment change and industrial production figures from the eurozone. In the US, crude inventories gives way to the latest Fed rate decision, where Powell is expected to preside over yet another hike. Crucially, we also see a batch of economic forecasts to accompany that decision, with markets largely looking towards the dot plot to see if there is any shift towards expecting 4 instead of 3 hikes in 2018.
    South Africa: The rand has weakened significantly as a result of a strengthening dollar. While our local bourse is expected to trade more or less flat leading into the US data tonight, locally listed banking and retail counters are expected to see early pressure on the back of the currency move. BHP Billiton is trading 1.3% lower this morning suggestive of a softer start for diversified resource counters. Tencent is trading more or less flat on the Hang Seng suggestive of a similar start for locally listed Naspers. 
    Economic Calendar (times in BST)


    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Corporate News
    Mulberry posted a fall in annual profit and said conditions had worsened in the early part of the new financial year. Pre-tax profit fell 8% to £7.5m, but revenue rose 1% to £169.7m. 
     
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
     
  25. JamesIG
    Fed raised rates as expected last night, and sees more hikes likely this year. Trade war tensions between US and China continue. Trump to meet top trade advisors today. Surprisingly weak data out from China regarding retail sales. South African rand hits a 6 month low whilst the Mexican peso continues to fall to a 16 month low. Oil largely unchanged, but larger than expected decline in US inventories, and an unexpected drawdown in gasoline. ECB rate decision later today. Keep an eye on euro crosses from midday. Related video below. UK, US and Europe: A hawkish Fed meeting yesterday has led to a downbeat session overnight, with much of Asia and Australasia trading in the red as a result. The 25 basis point hike was widely expected, yet it was the shift in the dot plot which signalled that we are now looking at a likely four rate rises in 2018, rather than three. Trade war tensions have however weighed on the dollar overnight, despite the hawkish guidance from the Fed. On the macroeconomic data front, Australian jobs data saw a sharp drop in unemployment (5.4% from 5.6%), although the employment change figure fell to 12,000 from 18,300. In China, the fixed asset investment, industrial production, and retail sales figures all disappointed, with a rise in foreign direct investment providing the only bright element of this data deluge.

    Looking ahead, European markets will no doubt be looking towards the ECB for guidance, with market expectations shifting towards an increased likeliness that the committee will lay out a pathway to the end of QE. Also watch for UK retail sales in the morning, and US retail sales in the afternoon.
    South Africa: The weaker US dollar has aided some gains in precious metal prices while the rand is clawing back some of its recent losses against the greenback. The stronger rand is expected help financial counters stem their recent currency related losses. BHP Billiton is up 0.4% in Australia, while Tencent Holdings is trading 1.2% lower in Asia. Naspers, a major holding company of Tencent, is expected to trade weaker in line with its Asian counterpart perhaps extending losses with the stronger rand. 
     
    Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)

    Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
    Featured video: Is the ECB near the end of easy money?
    Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
    Rolls Royce has confirmed that it will undertake ‘fundamental restructuring’, cutting 4600 jobs and aiming to save £400 million a year. Further details will come at tomorrow’s capital markets event.   Rathbones has completed the acquisition of Speirs & Jeffrey, Scotland’s largest independent wealth manager, and it will raise £60 million to help finance the deal.  PZ Cussons said that trading in the first half of the year had been constrained by weakness in the UK and Nigeria, and that conditions in Nigeria and Indonesia will mean the second half will remain challenging as well.   Volkswagen have been hit by a 1 billion euro fine over the emissions cheating scandal.  Comcast have topped Disney with a $65bn bid for 21st Century Fox which is an offer of $35 a share in a full cash bid. This represents an increase of 19% over Disney's share bid. Banco Santander upgraded to buy at HSBC
    Verbund upgraded to hold at HSBC
    Oxford Instruments upgraded to buy at Berenberg
    Tele2 upgraded to overweight at Morgan Stanley
    (SA) Investec upgrades Sibanye to buy with a target price of 1600c
    (SA) Investec maintain buy recommendation on BHP Billiton with a target price of 26900c
    Acciona downgraded to neutral at Goldman
    Grifols cut to neutral at JPMorgan
    Orion downgraded to underperform at Jefferies
    Pearson downgraded to underweight at Barclays
    Please note: This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
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