TD customers change tack amid share price fluctuations

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "TD Waterhouse customers traded heavily this week, registering an impressive 53% more trades than last week. Buying seems to have been the strategy of choice as our customers snapped up almost 60% more stocks than they sold seeking to make the most of recent share price fluctuations.

"Vodafone has moved from eighth place in the buys last week to seventh place in the sells this week, after customers took profits. Goldman Sachs had previously upgraded Vodafone to ‘buy' whilst at the same time downgraded rival BT to ‘neutral'. Subsequently, Vodafone's share price increased, which may have tempted customers to cash-in their stock as sells accounted for over half of all telecoms sales in the top ten. Goldman Sachs believes the mobile network operator, which made 500 job cuts in February, will report ‘solid' full year results in May and maintain the three year guidance for £5-6bn of annual free cash flow generation given in November 2008. The mobile phone giant recently appointed one of Africa's leading businessmen, Samuel Jonah, to its board as a non-executive director as it continues its global expansion.

"Our customers have also switched tack for Xstrata and Legal & General, who have both moved into fourth and sixth place, respectively, in the buys this week, after appearing as fifth and sixth place in the sells last week. This change in strategy could have been catalysed by the recent rally in the price of commodities. The price of Copper is at a three month high, having risen beyond 40% since the start of the year. Xstrata, the World's largest producer of Copper, accounted for almost a quarter of non-banking buys after being one of the biggest sellers last week. The Switzerland-based mining company recently secured the £4.1bn rights issue it called in January to safeguard it against risks in the current economy.

"But topping the charts again, banking trades dominated almost three quarters (73%) of overall trading activity, with buys ahead of sells by almost 37%. Meanwhile, subprime lender Cattles made a comeback after a week's absence from the top ten tables, probably on the back of its 25.4% share price hike on Monday, which shot it into 10th place in the buys table and eighth place in the sells. A recent review by accounting giant Deloitte estimates the troubled lender's provisions for bad debts could almost triple to £1.1bn and Cattles may need to take a further £850m of impairment provisions. The review revealed a breakdown of internal controls had caused the firms impairment policies to be wrongly used. Cattles has since suspended six executives, including two directors, whilst it awaits the results of a separate investigation into the under-provisioning by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer."