TD customers cash in on oil price hikes

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "The banks may have resumed their stronghold of the top three positions in this week's trading tables, but trades in oil and mining stocks have also proved popular after fresh attacks on a Nigerian pipeline caused a spike in US light crude oil prices on Monday. New entrants Nighthawk Energy - a UK-registered energy company - and Jubilee Platinum made it into the top ten buys this week, alongside regular favourites BP and Xstrata. Meanwhile, joining these stocks at fifth place in the sells is another new entrant, Afren, a pan-African independent oil and gas exploration and production company. Afren is said to be showing interest in forming a collaboration with Addax Petroleum, Nigeria's largest independent producer that is currently in $8bn bid talks with Chinese state owned oil group SINOPEC, and Korean oil company KNOC.

"But trading activity has shifted significantly from last week's buying frenzy, with overall top ten sells overtaking buys by 42%. Indeed, Jubilee Platinum - our new entrant in the buys - also entered our sells table at eighth place after announcing on Monday that it has begun negotiations which may ‘materially' affect its share price.

"Other movements in the tables show Aviva re-enter at ninth place in the sells this week, while the European content and consumer business, Mecom Group, is a newcomer in the buys at seventh place. Mecom, which owns over 300 printed titles and over 200 websites, has called off the sale of its stake in a Polish newspaper group on Thursday after failing to get the asking price.

"Finally, trades in house builder Taylor Wimpey have become more popular this week, with the stock moving up two places to sixth most popular sell this week. This might suggest customers have been cashing in on its share price hike following the company's announcement last week that its order book has grown by almost 75% since the start of the year."