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GL TRADE closes deal with Newedge Group

December 16th, 2008 - NEWEDGE expands its brokerage processing with GL TRADE's GL Instant Brokerage business component

European Opening Comments

Asian stocks gained despite a gloomy Tankan manufacturing survey from the Bank of Japan, with carmaker stocks Toyota and Hyundai making the biggest headway on hopes the White House will overrule the US Senate and rescue the big three Detroit carmakers. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the session up 5.2% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was up 2.4% as the session wore on. China's Shanghai index closed up 0.5%. European stocks look set to gain on hopes for Ford, GM and Chrysler, with little fundamental data on the calendar. CMC Markets is calling the FTSE, Dax and CAC all to open higher by 70-90 points. Bonds were a touch weaker across the board. The yield on the 10yr Bund was down 2bps at 3.26%, the 10yr Gilt yield up 1bp at 3.57% and the 10yr T-note yield up 1bp at 2.58%. On currency markets the dollar was under pressure with USD/JPY down 0.2% at 90.99, EUR/USD up 0.7% at 1.3466 and Cable up 0.6% at 1.5040. Oil was flat with January Nymex up 30 cents at $46.60 and Brent down 20 cents at $46.20. The OPEC cartel is widely expected to cut output at its meeting in Algeria this week.

Trayport makes four new appointments

December 12th, 2008 - Trayport announces four key appointments to strengthen its electronic trading business

European Pre-Opening Comments

Euroepan stock markets are expected to open slightly lower as gains over the last weekÂ may prove too irresistable for nervous investors looking to take profits. Financial spreadbetters are expecting London's FTSE 100 to open between 2 and 3.5 points lower, with Paris' CAC-40 seen down 10 points. Futures in Frankfurt's DAX and the broader DJStoxx50 markets were slightly lower about thirty minutes before the start of European trade, shrugging off gains in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul. South Korean shares rallied after its central bank slashed intrest rates by a full percentage point. China's Shanghai Composite though closed down 2.3%, with news that the Chinese consumer inflation rate fell to a 22-month lowÂ in November. Meanwhile,Â US stock index futures tip-toed lower in electronic trade after the cash S&P 500 index ended New York's session up 1.2%. The US House of Representatives approved a rescue plan for US carmakers, which now needs to win approval in the Senate. Crude oil traded above $44 in Asian hours on signs that top oil producer Saudi Arabia has cut supplies to customers. Continued gains in crude could lift European energy stocks. In the currency markets, pound sterling found buyers after plumbing record lows agains the euro on Wednesday and after falling through $1.49. The dollar, meanwhile, weakened against the euro. The euro/dollar hit a one-month high overnight at $1.3160, and by 0741 GMT was trading around $1.3130.

MainFirst Securities Hong Kong goes live with the GL RIMS

December 10th, 2008 - GL TRADE announces MainFirst Hong Kong live on GL RIMS to cover Korean and Taiwanese markets

FX Update: Asian Summary

The late rally in the US stock market sent the USD lower and currencies sharply higher in the last hours of NY trading, with JPY weakening along with the USD on improved risk appetite. This move in the currencies was consolidated in Asian trading with slight further gains made in some currencies such as AUD & EUR, while the GBP and NZD made only minor extension to the gains. Underpinning the risk appetite were broad based gains in Asian stocks with Hong Kong and Seoul rising over 7% with gains over 4% in Tokyo and Sydney. US bond yields held firm on rising stocks with reports from late Friday of funds switching out of bonds into stocks, and helping the DJIA rally. The Asian stock market gains fueled a rally in commodities with oil rising over $2, above $43, while gold rallied over $13, and base metals copper, nickel and zinc all rallied as well, which is good news for commodity currencies AUD and CAD. Comments from President-elect promising stimulus and hopes for a US car bail out were two factors said to be aiding the stock market performance.

FX Update: Asian Summary

The USD traded on a firm footing in Asia on expectations of rate cuts in the euro zone, UK, Australia and New Zealand this week. Over the weekend, and following data today, the expectations for the size of the rate cuts by these central banks became more aggressive, adding to support for the USD. JPY firmed as well on risk aversion as DJIA futures and the Nikkei came under pressure and JPY crosses against these currencies weakened on the rate outlook. EUR/USD, which had fallen sharply in London on Friday on poor data, fell to lows of 1.2620 before bouncing to 1.2693 into the European open. GBP/USD slumped to 1.5282 before recovering to 1.5350. AUD/USD dropped to 0.6440 and edged back to 0.6475. NZD/USD traded to 0.5410 with only a slight bounce to 0.5420. USD/JPY, which slumped early in the session, consolidated between 95.20-95.40 much of the trading day. Asian equity markets were mixed with Australian and Japanese stocks down but gains seen in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Oil, gold and base metals were lower with oil losing over $1 in the afternoon after Opec failed to cut consumption.

FX Update: Asian Summary

The dollar pared some of the losses made Tuesday in New York, though volume was light and interest was limited with traders citing the upcoming US holiday behind the subdued session. EUR/USD, which was capped at 1.3075/80 in NY, dropped back to lows of 1.2946, partly pressured by EUR/JPY sales, particularly at the Tokyo fix. Similarly, GBP/USD, which saw a high of 1.5533 in late NY, dropped back to 1.5321. Traders reported that the market was caught long GBP/JPY and unwinding those positions helped weigh on Cable. USD/JPY slumped from 95.60 at the open to lows of 94.80, due to exporter sales, fix-related selling and stop-loss selling under 94.90 but USD/JPY managed to consolidate around 95.20 in the afternoon. AUD/USD eased on local and AUD/JPY sales while Kiwi was range bound. Asian stocks were mixed with declines in Australia and Tokyo while strong gains were seen in Hong Kong and Seoul. Treasury yields were still soft after the decline in NY but bounced off the lows. Oil steadied above $51 but gold dropped over $5 to $814.40 on profit-taking. A heavy US data schedule seen Wednesday but the early close for the bond markets is expected to limit the market response. Data due includes October durables and personal income, along with weekly jobless claims, November Chicago PMI, October new home sales, and final University of Michigan November sentiment.

RTS "Asia On The Horizon" Panel - FIA, Chicago. November 2008

John Howard chairs the RTS "Asia On The Horizon" panel at the FIA show in Chicago. John is joined by Thomas McMahon, President of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange; Matthias Rietig - VP, Business Development for Osaka Securities Exchange; Nick Ronalds - Head of FIA, Asia; and Henk Huitema, Managing Director of RTS Asia Pacific.

FX Update: Asian Summary

The USD traded to session highs in Asia early in the Sydney session, with the currency bolstered by the sharp fall in the DJIA on Thursday. However, a sharp turnaround in Asian stocks took the USD off the highs, with the USD ending the session weaker overall. One factor that stalled USD gains was early intervention on the AUD At 0.6075. Asian stocks, though weak at the open, found little follow-through selling and some started to bounce back, including S. Korea and Hong Kong. This was followed by bounces in Japan, Australia and Taiwan and by the afternoon, Asian stock markets turned positive. Some attributed gains to comments from Japan Fin Min Nakagawa offering to address weak stocks but the gains in S. Korea and Hong Kong emerged before the bounce in Japan. Rumors of a rate cut in China were said to help the recovery. DJIA futures rallied over 200 pts. AUD rallied to highs of 0.6243 on the bounce. EUR/USD which hit lows of 1.2422 rallied as high as 1.2524. Low yield currencies such as JPY and CHF weakened with USD/JPY rising from 93.56 to highs of 95.03. Nymex crude dropped under $49 during the morning, but turned positive after the stock bounce, to rise to $49.85. US treasury yields extended their decline to record lows during the morning, but began to bounce back in the wake of stock developments. Fresh confidence in the stock markets could bode for a much larger bout of USD weakness.