FUTURES GSK futures 'thumped’

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 49

FUTURES GSK futures 'thumped’

Government Stock futures dropped 10 points in the last hour of trading as the contract went below the 8658 level and several substantial stop-loss orders were executed. A dealer said the market “took a thumping,” closing at 8650, only a few points off its low, and would probably remain bearish today.

He said the market was still being affected by political uncertainty in Wellington. Another dealer predicted a downside target for the contract of 8643, possibly even going as low as 8635. The Barclays contract fell initially yesterday, on the back of Wall Street being down 10 points, but picked up strength later in the day, another dealer said. He said the market had gone down "a hell of a lot” in the last few days, and was likely to continue to fall for the next three or four days.

The contract closed at 1862, a five point discount to the physical market at 1867.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, December share price index futures closed lower at 1455 — a 23.4 point discount to the

physical market — down from yesterday’s 1464.9 close. About 1761 lots were traded. Details of yesterday’s trading were: BARCLAYS SHARE INDEX Mth Open H/L Last Vol Dec 1855 870/840 1862 111 Contracts traded: 111. Open positions at November 21: Dec 201, Mar 2, total 203 (up 23). GOVERNMENT STOCK Mth Open H/L Last Vol Dec 8661 661/648 8650 1817 Mar 8672 672/663 8663 8 Contracts traded: 1825. Open positions at November 21: Dec 8799, Mar 28, total 8827 (up 799). NZ DOLLAR Mth Open H/L Last Vol Dec 6438 460/438 6458 5 Jan 6415 415/415 6415 1 Contracts traded: 6. Open positions at November 21: Dec 1, total 1 (up 1). SYDNEY ALL-ORDS (half-points omitted) Prev. Mth close H/L Last Vol Dec 1464 481/454 455 1761 Mar 460/456 456 6 Contracts traded: 1767. Open positions at November 21: 5031 (up 133). US DOLLAR Mth Open H/L Last Vol . Contracts traded: Nil. Open positions at November 21: Dec 223, Jan 8, Mar 3, total 234 (up 12). 90-DAY BANK BILLS Mth Open H/L Last Vol Dec 8559 565/558 8560 319 Mar 8585 585/585 8585 8 Contracts traded: 327. Open positions at November 21: Dec 2653, Jan 21, Mar 198, Jun 76, Sep 37, Dec 20, Mar 20, total 3025 (up 395).