TD customers delighted by Xcite energy
Darren Hepworth, Trading and Customer Services Director, TD Waterhouse comments: "Trading among TD customers increased by nearly 15% on last week, with oil explorer Xcite Energy (XEL) taking first place on the buys and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) completing a fourth week at the summit of the sells table. The banking giant outsold fellow financial, Barclays (BARC), by 2:1, as the FTSE 100 rallied in the week ending Tuesday, 5 July, climbing back over the 6,000 mark."
Darren Hepworth continues: "Xcite Energy leapfrogged last week's top three buys - Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) - rising from fourth to first place in the table. The oil explorer accounted for over a quarter of all top ten buys as the Treasury said that it would increase the level of tax support for North Sea oil explorers on Tuesday (5 July). Xcite's share price reacted positively to the news, reaching a high of 247p the same day, having closed at 173p on Monday.
"TD customers worked up an appetite for Premier Foods (PFD) this week, possibly hungry for a bargain as the company took fifth place in the top ten buys table. The pricing row that saw Tesco (TSCO) delist a quarter of its products has now been resolved, but Premier was forced to issue a shock profit warning on Thursday (30 June) after admitting the dispute had cost £10m. The company warned half-year profits were likely to be between £65m and £70m, compared with £94m in 2010, saying it had also been hit by higher commodity prices and a tough consumer environment. Premier's share price reached 25p on Thursday (30 June), before it dropped to a low of 17p the next day.
"Elsewhere in the buys table Yell Group (YELL) was a new entrant in 10th place as it named Richard Hanscott as its new UK chief last Wednesday (29 June). Meanwhile, new entrants to the sells table included two miners - Xstrata (XTA) taking seventh place and Chilean copper miner, Antofagasta (ANTO), taking ninth. Xstrata said on Friday (1 July) that it was confident it would hit its 2011 copper output target, with production improving in the second quarter compared to the first when it was hindered by heavy rain. Meanwhile, Antofagasta's CEO, Jean Paul Luksic, announced there was huge demand for metals from China and other emerging markets investing in infrastructure and urbanisation."