TD Waterhouse customer buys exceed sells by 90%

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "Our customer buys exceeded sells by a whopping 90% this week ahead of performance updates and Annual General Meetings (AGMs) from several key FTSE companies. Trading overall increased by 37% in the week ended Tuesday (27th April) and buys also jumped 83% on the previous week as TD Waterhouse customers positioned themselves for the various regulatory announcements.

"Interest in the leading banking stocks remained high with The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) alone accounting for half of the buy and sell trades for the second consecutive week ahead of RBS' AGM, which took place yesterday, and Lloyds' earnings announcement on Tuesday. Barclays (BARC) featured as the third most-bought stock, and the fourth most-sold, ahead of its own AGM tomorrow.

"House builders also featured strongly, with Taylor Wimpey (TW) third on the list of sells and sixth among the top ten buys following the announcement of the biggest monthly gain in US new-home sales in 47 years and ahead of today's AGM. Trading volumes in Barratt Developments (BDEV) also increased on the back of the US new homes data, with Barratt shares featuring as the fifth most-sold stock over the week.

"Among natural resources stocks, BP plc (BP) re-entered the top ten buys in seventh place. The oil major said that first-quarter profit surged 135% amid rising oil prices and strong performance at the company's exploration and production division. Xstrata (XTA) held on to fourth position among the top ten buys ahead of the Switzerland-based mining company's AGM on 5th May.

"Premier Foods (PFD) entered the top ten buys in ninth position ahead of the company's Interim Management Statement on Tuesday in which it said that trading conditions remain challenging, while Game Group (GMG) entered the top ten sells after the games retailer announced the resignation of its CEO Lisa Morgan."