Stock Market Report

3 - December - 2008

Weekly Investors Market Report, 1st December 2008 from Graham Spooner, Investment Adviser at the Share Centre

Overview

The major event this week is the Bank of England's Monetary Policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. Some economists expect rates to be cut again.
US employment data on Friday is expected to show a fall of 300,000 for November after a drop of 240,000 in October.

Market Indices

Markets last week were higher and the FTSE 100 moved back above the 4000 level, boosted by mining companies, as investors looked for bargains following recent falls. The 13.4 pct rise was the biggest ever five-day gain. They also benefited from higher commodity prices. Gold was up 3.6 pct, Brent crude 4.5 pct and Copper 5.6 pct on the week.

There was also the US government rescue plan for Citigroup, which reassured investors that action will be taken to prevent the downward spiral.

Week ahead (Monday 1st - Friday 5th)

Tuesday; Updates are expected from, Tesco, Game Group and Greene King
Wednesday; Final results from Sage Group and Stagecoach
Thursday; Following on from its main rival on Tuesday Morrison Supermarkets is set to deliver a trading update.
Friday; Interim results from Berkeley Group, analysts will be keen to study the views of Tony Pidgley, the group's founder on the housing market.

The Share Centre opinion provided by Graham Spooner, Investment Adviser at The Share Centre is not intended to constitute an offer or agreement to buy or sell investments.

See Also: Investors Diary and Market Watch