LONDON, September 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

August 2011 saw markets plunge across the world, sparking a sell stampede which marked one of the worst trading weeks for European stock indices in some time. On 5^th August alone, the FTSE 100 lost over 3%, weighed specifically by heavy falls in Royal Bank of Scotland.

However on Tuesday 31^st August 2011 the FTSE gained more than £36m in value as investors reacted positively to better-than-expected news following the bank holiday weekend.  Joshua Raymond, Chief Market Strategist at City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/), immediately urged traders to be cautious with their positions: "With such an intense focus on any news, data or event that could trigger price moves, the rally we have seen [on 31^st August] remains open to early bouts of profit taking and choppy trading."

This soon proved to be the case as the FTSE 100 lost over 2% going into the close having rallied 5% in the first two trading days of the week, and continues to trade choppily. Taking a view of market activity on 8^th September 2011 was City Index's Giles Watts. He reported: "European stock markets endured a choppy trading session today as investors battled to second guess what actions the BoE and ECB were likely to take in the ensuing months after both central banks kept their respective interest rates on hold."

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SOURCE City Index