Insurance Companies Strong on "Triple Witching" Day
Friday was a so-called "triple witching" day, with options, index futures and options on index futures all expiring on the same day, and adding volatility to the market.
Dominic Turner
shareprices.com - Monday, June 22, 2009
Options and futures traders should, therefore, have been delighted that signs of an economic recovery on both sides of the Atlantic lifted the FTSE 100 index during early trading. Better than expected manufacturing and employment data from the U.S. helped to lift New York equities, overnight, and gains were reflected in London, with the blue chip index up 75 points, or 1.75%, at 4,355.81, by midday.
Insurance companies, including Aviva, Friends Provident, Prudential and Standard Life, were amongst the best performers, after Deutsche Bank published a review of the European insurance sector. The review concluded that the sector was "good value", and Deutsche Bank upgraded to price target for several stocks. One of those, Aviva, whose price target was raised to 385p from 350p, rose 4.95%, to 334p, on Friday morning. Share prices in Prudential, too, rose 4.4%, to 423p, after it confirmed the sale of its agency business in Taiwan to Chinese Life Insurance Company, a move that will add a further £800 million to its £2 billion capital surplus.
Elsewhere, improved economic data from the U.S., and continuing concerns over supply in Nigeria, helped to push the price of crude oil back up towards $72 a barrel, while gold remained flat, at $934 a troy ounce, in the face of unusually low seasonal demand for jewellery in India.
Latest News
- FTSE inches upwards as miners support
3 Feb 2012 - FTSE soars; Greece deal nearly done
2 Feb 2012 - FTSE records gain for January
1 Feb 2012
Related News
- Japan disaster shakes FTSE
13 Mar 2011 - Inspiring eurozone data and bid talks lift battered FTSE
13 Aug 2010 - FTSE 100 Drifts from 10-Month High
10 Aug 2009
FTSE 100 Latest
| Value | Change |
| 5,901.07 | 105.00  |
Create a Watch List 
Track your favourite stocks
Create & monitor portfolios
Daily portfolio value
News
- FTSE inches upwards as miners support
3 Feb 2012 - FTSE soars; Greece deal nearly done
2 Feb 2012 - FTSE records gain for January
1 Feb 2012 - FTSE down as commodities sink
30 Jan 2012 - FTSE as US GDP disappoints
30 Jan 2012 - FTSE jumps as miners boost
26 Jan 2012 - FTSE tumbles as brokers urge caution
25 Jan 2012 - FTSE wobble as eurozone fears remain
24 Jan 2012 - FTSE hits six month closing peak
23 Jan 2012 - FTSE creeps lower but ends week higher overall
22 Jan 2012
