Morning Call by Traders University

London stocks finished slightly higher on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 closed at 4,234 climbing 0.5%. Vodafone was the most traded stock, seeing 118 million units change hands, followed by Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) which saw 97.3 million shares switch owners. The Dow opened yesterday with a modest bounce from the lows. It then proceeded to trade sideways within a very tight consolidation pattern. The index eventually closed the day with a gain of 51 points and continues to hold above clear support at 7,850. The Dow is also building a tight consolidation at lows after yesterday’s big decline, formed above major support at 7,850, which has held firmly over the last two weeks. The 7,850 level is key to watch for a break for the next significant move. Otherwise, strength through 8,000 may lead to near-term strength back toward the 8,150 zone. Late session news that key lawmakers agreed on a $790 billion economic stimulus plan sent stocks moderately higher in a partial rebound from a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow Jones industrials down 382 points. Significant Forex news sees US Core Retail month-on-month and retail Sales at 13.30. Both are forecast to be better than previous figures. For those of you trading into the evening please be aware that New Zealand Trade Balance is due to be released at 21:45. Although the NZD is a relatively small currency in this region please be aware of this Trade Balance release.