Morning Call by Traders University

The FTSE 100 index is predicted to open 20 to 22 points higher today, according to financial bookmakers, having closed up at 3,530 in the previous session. Lloyds Banking Group will be the centre of attention after it said Britain would take a stake of up to 77 percent in the bank. Britain’s economic downturn will be deeper than previously thought this year as commented by the British Chamber of Commerce. The central bank may have scope to pump more money into the economy if an asset-buying spree unveiled last week failed to kick-start growth as quoted by Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean. The Dow reached 6,500 on Friday, bounced off the bottom of the weekly channel and finally closed the day with a surprising gain of 33 points. If the Dow can remain above the lower boundary of the sloping trading range, we could actually see near-term buying pressure toward the range at around 7,500. However, continued overall weakness should rule the market beneath 7,500, as the Dow continues to make its way toward the next target of 5,600. Forex news today sees a quiet day for data releases with only the CAD housing starts due at 1215 GMT with a slight reduction expected. Friday saw a terrible USD Non Farm Payroll number with 651K jobs shed resulting in the US unemployment rate rising to the highest in 25 years. The BOE plans to initiate Quantitative Easing has left sentiment fragile at best and is having a largely negative impact on Sterling.