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Market reports
Top Ten CFD stocks for the week
Anthony Anderson, MF Global, August 22, 2008

We asked MF Global if we could take a peek into their CFD book for CFD traders’ most popular stocks. Prepared by Anthony Anderson, Senior CFD Broker, below are the top 10 most popular CFD trades for the week based on percentage gains and losses and the reasons why.

Traders were decidedly uncertain about the future price direction of BHP Billiton this week, as activity on both the buy and sell side take out the top one and two spots in MF Global’s top ten CFDs; media headlines proclaiming the end of the resources boom probably added to this uncertainty unnecessarily.

Takeover rumours surrounding regional bank Suncorp Metway provided plenty of opportunity for strong buying action as did takeover target Felix Resources. Traders pin hopes on the news that Brazilian giant Vale might be a keen suitor.

Banks continue to be weak due to Babcock & Brown woes and continuing drama in the US. Traders shorted Commonwealth Bank against taking out long positions in Suncorp Metway.

Deteriorating conditions at Paperlinx prompted shorting action, while a solid earnings result and a share buy back scheme saw strong buying interest in Santos.

MF GLOBAL TOP TEN STOCKS
Prepared by: Anthony Anderson, Senior CFD broker

Please note that these are not buy or sell recommendations; they are merely a list of the top trades based on volume for the previous week. This information does not constitute advice, and is intended as a reference only.

Ranking	Stock	LONG/SHORT	Reason
no.1	BHP BILLITON LIMITED (BHP)	LONG	Strong buying from mid week as metals have strong bounce. Buying support raised to $37 now.
no.2	BHP BILLITON LIMITED(BHP)	SHORT	Trading in BHP highlights the diversity of views in the market as it is number 1 in both longs and shorts over the week.
no.3	RIO TINTO LTD(RIO)	LONG	Finally had long awaited bounce and traders were keen to run with this strength as it broke through $114.
no.4	SUNCORP-METWAY(SUN)	LONG	Traders backing talk that SUN is a possible takeover target.
no.5	SANTOS(STO)	LONG	Another stock traders were keen to stick with, especially after it announced solid earnings result and share buy back scheme.
no.6	Commonwealth Bank(CBA)	SHORT	Banks continue to be weak on back of US market and Babcock woes. Shorting CBA against longs in SUN.
no.7	PAPERLIN(PPX)	SHORT	Stock has been weak of late and traders shorted as company talked about deteriorating conditions.
no.8	TELSTRA(TLS)	LONG	Has been very volatile but overall traders keen to buy ahead of going ex-dividend.
no.9	FELIX RESOURCES(FLX)	LONG	Another takeover target as traders pin hopes on news that Brazilian giant Vale might be interested.
no.10	MINARA(MRE)	LONG	Nickel has a solid bounce as Xstrata announces it will shut down its Falcondo operation due to rising costs.This inspired traders to jump into MRE after massive sell down.