Quiet futures trading

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 27

Quiet futures trading

Futures trading yesterday was very quiet with most players seeming content to sit pat. Only 37 deals were done in all the futures and options contracts. The market was winding down in the lead-up to Christmas, said one dealer. Also the computerised dealing system crashed for 2(4 hours at the start of the day. In the Barclays share futures the spot and March contracts opened at variance, the December contract gapping up 5 points while March opened 9 points easier. Only 11 lots were passed in both Barclays contracts with December first trading at 2.20 p.m. The spot contract ended on its high at par with the physical index while March which also closed at the top of its range notched a 38point premium over the physical. The local sharemarket had a positive day putting on 20 points, most of the increase coming after the morning call. However, the dealer said he viewed the advance as a technical rebound from an over-sold market. It was also a bit early for institutions to be window-dressing their books for the end of year. He commented that an unusual feature of yesterday’s trading was the up to 40 point spread between buying and selling

quotes. In the interest-rate futures the bond contract consolidated, the main event being a large buy order from a Wellington bank driving the spot contract from its low to the high. The dealer said that

Futures

immediate resistance on the upside would be at around 8750. The bill futures was almost totally becalmed. He expected immediate resistance at 8613-15 and support at 8597-98.

BARCLAYS SHARE-PRICE INDEX Mth Open High Low Offer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Chge Dec 15 Dec 89 1965 1972 1965 1975 1972 1972 + 14 6 189 Mar 90 1990 2010 1990 2015 2005 2010 + 11 5 33 90-DAY BANK BILLS Mth Open High Low Offer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Chge Dec 15 Mar 90 8605 8605 8604 8606 8604 8604 -1 102 3290 Jun 90 — — — 8640 8630 — — 0 278 Sep 90 — — — 8670 8650 — — 0 179 FIVE-YEAR GOVERNMENT STOCK No >. 2 (11-93 stock, 10% coupon) Mth Open High LowOffer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Chge Mar 90 8743 8748 8742 8748 8746 8747 +3 233 8499 UNITED STATES DOLLAR Mth Open High Low Offer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Chge Dec 15 Jan 90 1.6912 6912 6912 — — 6912 — 200 400 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR Mth Open High Low Offer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Chge Dec 15 Dec 89 5935 5935 5649 — — 5649 -.0288 18 50 Feb 90 5649 5649 5649 — — 5649 -.0232 14 0 SYDNEY ALL ORDINARIES Mth Prev. High Low Offer Bid Last Day’s Vol. Open Close Chge Dec 89 1624 1638 1618 1637 1637 1637 + 13 502 3960 Mar 90 1666 1681 1665 1681 1680 1681 + 15 223 16172 Jun 90 — — -— 1714 1708 — — 0 467 PUT Dec 89 1800 1 3 3 3 3 +2 2 39