Traders move long of FTSE on hope of April rally

Spread betting punters are net long of the FTSE100 index – undeterred by the Prime Minister’s announcement of the start of the General Election campaign.

Bookmakers said clients have been opening fresh longs in both the FTSE and the Dow, on the view that April would again prove a positive month for stock indices, as it has in some other years.

CMC/deal4free said moves in the Dow down to the 10,400 area have tended to spark buying by punters. It has also seen punters taking long positions out in many individual UK stocks.

Particularly in demand today have been the pharmaceuticals and drinks firms, and punters remain generally long of oil stocks. They are more cautious on financials however, CMC said.

Finspreads said its clients were long both the FTSE and the Dow today, but short of the Nasdaq. Selling the latter has been a good profit maker for traders recently.

On currencies, bookmakers say that most punters are short of the dollar across the board, looking for a retreat from recent highs for the US currency. Despite the coming election, most traders are long of the pound against the dollar.

Punters have had a difficult time with the oil price recently, as it has moved up to the $57 area on both Nymex and Brent.

Bookies said today that most clients remain short on oil, hoping that the top has now been established.

Bookmakers are expecting a surge of new betting on the General Election result. Today, IG Index was quoting Labour to win 346-351 seats in the new parliament, and the Tories 201-206. In 2001, Labour got 413 and the Conservatives 166. IG’s latest spread on the likely Labour majority is 50-56.

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