Morning Call by Traders University

Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 30-57 points lower on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, reflecting weak showings on Wall Street and in Asia and caution ahead of this week’s G20 summit. The UK blue-chip index closed 26 points lower on Friday at 3,898. All eyes will be on the G20 meeting at London’s ExCel centre on Thursday. U.S. president Barack Obama said in an interview published in the Financial
Times on Sunday that he saw ‘glimmers of stabilization’ in some areas of the U.S. economy, including the domestic housing market. Obama told the newspaper he hoped G20 leaders would adopt a ‘robust approach to stimulus’ during their meeting and would take steps to deal with toxic assets in the banking sector.

Wall Street investors are looking to close out a surprisingly upbeat March on a high note and start off a make-it-or-break-it April on good terms as the spring rally hits some resistance. The week’s biggest economic news is the Labour Department’s March employment report. Employers are expected to have cut 656,000 jobs from their payrolls after cutting 651,000 in February. The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, is expected to have risen to 8.5% from 8.1% in February. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks in the afternoon about the Fed’s balance sheet. Bernanke appears at the Richmond Fed’s credit markets symposium in North Carolina. A report is also due from the ISM on the services sector of the economy. The Dow closed at 7776.18 down 1.87%

There is little by way of Forex related news and releases today. In the UK we have Mortgage Approval figures and Net Lending to Individuals m/m - both are expected to show improvement. In Eurozone news, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet is due to testify in Brussels on the economy before the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.