Tuesday night CEO of Steinhoff, the South Africa based Frankfurt listed retail conglomerate which owns Poundland in the UK, resigned with immediate effect because of accounting irregularities. Chairman Christo Weise, its biggest shareholder and one of a handful of the nation’s richest men, will take charge temporarily while PwC investigates criminal and tax issues dating back to 2015. Shares in the firm slumped by 72 per cent at one point yesterday, Bloomberg reports. They also say that €800 million 2025 bonds issued by the firm dropped from 90 cents in the euro at the beginning of this month to a low of 42 cents yesterday. The European Central Bank owns rather a lot of these.
A Survey by the British Institute of Directors found that 83 per cent of young entrepreneurs were upbeat about prospects for 2018, City AM reports. Aware of challenges to the economy and from government policy, not forgetting trade deals with the EU, it prompted its director general into saying, ‘our start up founders are demonstrating that the British entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.’
DAX 30
Took a peek below 12900 and got rather a fright so scarpered all the way back to where we started. This hanging man type doji candle underlines the slightly precarious current situation.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 12960; stop above 13225. First target 12700.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
FTSE 100
Tried the downside, then the upside, and decided it’s not quite sure what to do. MACD only marginally bearish
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 7470; stop above 7400. Target 7125.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
S&P 500
Pausing for breath as the commodity channel turns down.
SHORT TERM TRADER: New tiny short at 2631; stop above 2665. Target 2550.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
BRITISH POUND/US DOLLAR
Cable clinging on despite waning bullish momentum and one-sided demands for EU deadlines to be met.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Long at 1.3425; stop below 1.3340. Target 1.3620.
POSITION TAKER: Long at 1.3325; stop below 1.3340. Target 1.3590.
EURO/US DOLLAR
Losing traction thus turning momentum bearish.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Stopped out of my long position on yesterday’s dip below the trend line.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
GOLD
Bearish momentum increasing as we consolidate below the bottom edge of the symmetrical triangle yesterday. At its widest the triangle is $56 high making the measured target from Tuesday’s break $1213.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 1281; stop above 1290. Target 1260.
POSITION TAKER: Will sell on a weekly close below $1270.
Nicole Elliott is a long-standing Member of the Society of Technical Analysts and has taken over the IC’s trading coverage. She is regularly interviewed and quoted by the financial media, is a conference speaker, and author of several books on charting.
