Morning Call by Traders University

Yesterday the FTSE closed up 11 points at 4018. After piercing the 4000 mark early on for the second day running, the index rallied back up around midday to close above the key level. With banks leading the rise the highest faller was Old Mutual down 12.74 %. This fall may be partly because investors are turning to bank shares today because they have been under valued, trading at less than their book value, but also because of Legal & General’s announcement that it has reduced most of its with-profits bonuses. The U.S. stock market’s fall on Thursday initially had investors steering clear of three-month intraday lows tested earlier in the week. The Dow finished at a more than six year low sinking 89 points at 7465, causing the index to close at its lowest level since Oct. 9, 2002. In forex news today the GBP is expecting retail sales at 0930 with a forecast of 0.00% down from 1.6 % the previous month. In CAD, the core CPI figures are due at 1200 with the USD core CPI figures due at 1.30pm, both are expecting a slight improvement.