Spread Betting: Goldman Sachs earnings trigger equity sell off - FTSE back below 6000 again

Financial spread betting expert and City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/) Market Strategist Joshua Raymond looks at the financial headlines shaping trading on 19th January, including a sell-off triggered by a decline in earnings at Goldman Sachs

“A surprising decline in earnings from major US bank and corporate bellwether Goldman Sachs triggered investors into defensive mode in late European trading, forcing the FTSE 100 lower by over 1% and back below the 6000 level.

The 53% decline in profits from Goldman Sachs took investors by a bit of a surprise. it was the amount of decline rather than the difficulty in their fixed income trading departments, which had been expected, that took the market by a bit of a surprise and as a result, investors threw caution to the wind. The earnings from Goldman Sachs, typically seen by most as one of the pinnacle investment banks in the world, has hurt investor sentiment today, particularly those hoping for a strong set of earnings from UK banks like Barclays, whose shares subsequently bore the brunt of the reactive selling.

Despite the strong start to the years trading, the FTSE 100 is firmly stuck in a trading range of 5940-6090. There is clearly a battle going on between those investors who still see further upside and are prepared to use any sell off as buying opportunities and those investors who feel market prices are overstretched and warrant a correction. Right now neither side is winning and the market remains locked in a range as a result.

To sound a word of caution, the Volatility Index, investor’s key gauge of fear or pessimism in the market, has nudged higher by 4% today, rallying from levels where the Index has historically found support. This could be an early warning sign to an increase in volatility ahead which could prove troublesome for the markets if bearish technical indicators are proved correct.”

To keep up with price movements and market news throughout the day, try City Index’s iPhone spread betting platform. Visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/trading-platform/ for details.

About City Index:

Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, contracts for difference (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/cfd-trading/) and, in the UK, spread betting (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/spread-betting/).

We constantly look to widen the range of assets we offer, improve the performance of our platforms and expand the range of services we provide. The result is that our customers spread bet using innovative trading tools with transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer service and support.

Contracts for differences (“CFD”) trading and spread betting carry a high level of risk to your capital with the possibility of losing more than your initial investment and may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary. For more information, visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/.

City Index, Park House, 16 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EB

Alex Nekrassov / Jonny Smith
New Century Media
020 7930 8033

This release was published on openPR.