THE TIPSTER
WITH uncertainty continuing over the situation in Egypt, bearish investors are coveting the safe haven assets once again. After retreating from the $1,400 level at the start of the year, gold is now creeping higher but with no signs of further contagion in the geopolitical sphere, the risk aversion stance could arguably be seen as a little overdone. IG Index’s current price on daily spot gold is $1,349.50-$1,350.
The news that house prices rose 0.8 per cent in January is good news for house builders worried about a decline in sentiment as austerity starts to bite in the first half of this year. Bellway Homes will be hoping that upward movement continues when they issue a trading announcement today. CMC Markets are offering a spread of 625.52p-627.76p.
As far as supermarkets go, traders tend to focus on Tesco and Sainsbury’s, with Morrison taking a backseat. But all this seems to be changing as the volume in the tiddler of the supermarket sector is on the rise. Daily average volume over the last month has doubled to 10m shares as interest ramps up a notch. Along with talk of returning a significant amount of capital to investors and numerous broker upgrades, one doesn’t need many more reasons to pick up the stock. ETX Capital is quoting 278.2p-278.7p for the Wm Morrison rolling daily contract.
Mining giant Xstrata reports earnings on Tuesday and they are expected to be strong, possibly around 50 per cent better than a year ago thanks to surging copper prices. The recent dip to the 100-day moving average at 1,350p was short lived, with the shares rallying back strong to 1,450p on heavy volume. With copper prices possibly about to break above $10,000 a tonne, the shares may retake the 1,550p highs in the coming months. Spread Co offers a spread on Xstrata of 1,436.9p-1,440.1p.