CFD Traders Diary
Sharp reversal in the financials with HBOS leading the fallers
27/2/2008
Although it has felt very bullish this week, there was a more sober aspect to this morning's market with a wave of early selling across the financials. The early faller was HBOS, with a nasty 8% fall as it reported slightly better than expected profits but issued a fairly downbeat assessment of the next year. Given the almost 20% rise in its shares over the last two weeks, a pullback was not unexpected, and traders will now turn to RBS, who announce their latest update tomorrow.
Elsewhere there were plenty of results to chew on, but generally few surprises so we have something of a standoff mid-morning with the FTSE 100 index down 47 points mid-morning. William Hill provided some excitement after it missed forecasts on a poor performance from its internet business. Initially the shares moved ahead on what was a fairly confident statement, but doubts about demand began to creep in and the shares were unchanged but looking potentially weak again.
The other big background news is the continuing rise in crude prices, with oil now at a new high above $101. Whether it is sustainable remains to be seen, but big winners if it carries on will be the likes of BG, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy, and it is bound to put pressure on airline stocks including British Airways and Easyjet.
