Buys up on sells as TD customers diversify
Stuart Welch, CEO, TD Direct Investing comments: "The top ten buys and sells tables were given a fresh look this week, with eight new entries appearing across our tables. TD customers traded at more than 1.6:1 in favour of buys with Tesco (TSCO) remaining top of the buys table for the third week in a row and Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) maintaining pole position in the sells for the second consecutive week. The FTSE 100 ended the week ending Tuesday 31 January at 5,681.61, having gained just under 2% during the first month of 2012.
"Five of this week's eight new entries arrived in the sells table, with Premier Foods (PFD) leading the way in fifth place as the company prepared to launch a major TV advertising push following its announcement of job cuts last month.
"Leni Gas & Oil (LGO) was this week's sixth most popular sell following 10th placed Range Resources' (RRL) announcement of a partnership between the two companies, which will see them jointly develop their Trinidadian interests. Leni's share price was up on the announcement, reaching 1.2p by close last Wednesday (25 January), having ended the previous day at 0.77p. For the week ending Tuesday 31 January the company's share price had gained over 66% overall.
"Seventh placed ARM Holdings (ARM) also received a boost this week as it reported a 45% hike in profits for the fourth quarter of 2011 on Monday (30 January). The chip designer's share price closed at 620.7p on Tuesday (31 January), up more than 4% on the previous day.
"Elsewhere, TD customers appeared set to cash in on a similar spike in Orchid Development's (OCH) share price, which was sparked by rumours it had found a buyer for its Grand Mall in Varna, Bulgaria. Having started the week ending Tuesday, 31st January at below 4p, Orchid's share price finished the week at 15p, a gain of 275% as the company finished eighth in the sells and 10th in the buys.
"The final new entrant to our sells table this week was ninth placed Xstrata Plc (XTA), which announced record output from its Australian thermal coal operations for 2011 on Tuesday (31 January). Meanwhile, Sirius Minerals (SXX) was new to the buys in eighth place after announcing last week that it intends to exploit potash deposits in North Yorkshire and plans to accelerate drilling by raising £50m through a share issue."