Traders Go Short of the DOW and Tech Stocks, Long of Banks

Spread betting punters have moved decisively short of the Dow and the Nasdaq, on the view that the recent jump in those indices has left them ripe for a setback.

Bookmakers said however that traders were balanced on the FTSE100 index, with as many bulls as bears.

Finspreads said that its clients were long the German Dax but short of the Dow, while CMC/deal4free reported that its customers were short of both the Dow and the Nasdaq.

Among individual stocks, bookies reported strong interest in the banks, with punters overwhelmingly long, and also in BP and Shell. Most traders were long of the oil majors too.

Punters have been bullish of FTSE250 stocks, encouraged by the heady performance of the mid-cap index.

However the mood has been bearish in recent days towards technology stocks and telecommunications.

Finspreads said punters are mostly long of gold and oil – despite the latter’s move above $50 – but short of the dollar against other currencies such as the euro and the pound.

CMC also reported that punters are bullish of gold, silver and oil.

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