The petrochemicals sector looks set to remain squarely in focus as trading in 2006 gets under way.
Whether the FTSE can break through the key 5800 barrier remains to be seen but there's little fundamental data around just now that could support an extended rally.
Whether the FTSE can break through the key 5,800 barrier remains to be seen but there's little fundamental data around just now that could support an extended rally.
The airline themselves aren't actually even coming out with any ideas of how much the strike is going to hurt them on top of the increase in oil prices so we're not actually making any call on price at the moment but it will be down and I would say quite heftily.
London equities continue to edge higher as the week progresses with rising oil prices, due to increased U.S. gasoline demand, lending a degree of support to the petrochemicals companies.
The short trading week looks set to be dominated by oil prices. The news is likely to depress stocks with higher input costs set to damage margins.
There's some concern that although inflationary pressures do appear to have receded in recent days, higher fuel prices could reignite worries here and this in turn has the potential to weigh on stocks across the board.
The fact that we're approaching the end of the quarter is being seen as a key driver here, although a generally buoyant mood amongst equities in Japan and much of Europe appears to be providing some support here too.
Essentially traders can't seem to come to a consensus this week over the state of the US economy and this is leaving markets in a somewhat volatile state.
With the rate verdict due later, there's a cautious mood creeping into equity markets as although a 25-basis-point hike is widely expected, there's little consensus as to just how long the aggressive stance over interest rates will now continue for.
