Hello traders!

US stocks staged a late rally tonight, sending the Nasdaq Composite up to its highest close since June, 2001.

The Nasdaq turned positive for 2005, rising 15.39 points to 2,188.57. The Dow shot up 42.6 points to 10,689.2 and the S&P500 gained 5.85 points at 1,235.20.

See you in the morning with the latest....

G.

Good morning traders!

In Asia this morning, a rise in interest rates quietened trading on the Hang Seng Index which ended the morning up 12.52 points at 14,615.22. In Tokyo, the Nikkei was recently up 36.23 points at 11,825.58.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, was at $57.68 a barrel, down 34 cents from its close of $58.02 in the US overnight.

Off to find some UK news.....

Happy trading!

G.

AFX UK at a glance share guide - 2

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,215.2, up 13.7
FTSE 250 7,434.6, up 19.5
DJIA 10,689.10, up 42.50
Nasdaq Comp 2,188.57, up 15.39
S&P 500 1,235.20, up 5.85
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 11,786.73, down 2.62
Hang Seng midday 14,615.22, up 12.52
Gold 422.35 usd (419.75 usd)
Oil - Brent Sep 56.65 usd (57.36 usd)

BREAKING NEWS
* 1.5 bln stg boost for sea freight; London Gateway port plan set for approval; P&O project would create 16,500 jobs - FT
* MPC minutes raise rate cut prospect - FT
* RTL takes full control of Channel Five with 247 mln stg cash deal
* GUS earmarks December for selling BURBERRY stake - FT
* ICI says its pension deficit could rise by as much as half from the 443 mln stg reported at its last valuation in 2003, reflecting the improving life expectancy of its members - FT
* RENEWABLE ENERGY HOLDINGS buys its first wind farm for 33 mln stg; it bought Windpark, in Germany, from EDF Energies Nouvelles
* US economy remains solid and the Federal Reserve expects to continue raising interest rates to keep inflation in check, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the central bank, says

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on Danone (already trading at 22 times optimistic consensus earnings for 2005; that is quite high by any sane standard), RIO TINTO (steady - rather than exceptional - share price performance can be expected), China (correlation between commodity demand and Chinese growth looks weaker than it once did), Unocal
Express
CAPITA (fears over a lack of major new contracts) - SHARE WHISPER: PARKDEAN HOLIDAYS (gossips say several venture capital firms are circling) - WHO'S DEALING: FLETCHER KING (managing director sells 40,000 shares at 45 pence)
Mail
P&O (vulnerable to a hostile bid - dealers) - SAVOY ASSET MANAGEMENT (Charles Stanley forecasts pretax profits of 750,000 stg this year)
Times
DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: SIERRA LEONE DIAMOND COMPANY (non-executive chairman buys 500,000 shares at 53-3/4 pence) - TEMPUS: RIO TINTO (buy), LOGICACMG (buy), UNITED BUSINESS MEDIA (hold)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: RIO TINTO (buy), CLINTON CARDS (those who took out earlier advice should hold on, others should consider hopping on board), TRAFFICMASTER (if you bought in April, you should probably hold on; if not, you should wait to see what difference Tony Eales makes before diving in)
Guardian
EASYJET (parent of Icelandair refuses to rule out the possibility of a merger between the two airlines)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: SHELL (still worth backing), CLINTON CARDS (sell), COLEFAX (hold)

Good Morning all

Its good to see colt up there! I deal in the US in this share - it seems to follow the UK so I get pretty good idea of what its going to do!

I wondered why the FTSE dropped suddenly after lunch - seems like there are more bombs in London today.

From the lSE:

Service Announcement

Trading and London Market Information Link (LMIL)

Central London Security Alert

We are aware of the incidents and are monitoring the situation carefully. At this current time our services are running normally. We will keep you informed of any developments.