Week 01 of 2013
What a start to the year. Equities were flying higher from the starting blocks after US politicians finally passed a rather inevitable bill on raising taxes to reduce the huge debt burden on the country. The Debt ceiling was unfortunately left where it is – the can kicked down the road until End of Feb. This tin can could find itself rather dented by the time politicians finish playing their games.
With earning season set to kick off imminently – the market can turn attention to company specific news and heaven forbid… fundamentals (excuse the sarcasm).
The Dow kicked off the new year 13104 and closed week one at 13435. The DOW is still approx 300pts off its 2012 highs. The FTSE 100 set off 2013 at 5898 and smashed through the 6000 level to close at 6090. The FTSE last hit highs around the 6100 level back in Sept 2008 just before the Lehmans news broke.
A virtual portfolio has been set up using the 2012 final trading day close figures as a starting point and £1000 has been invested in each stock. This does not include buying fees or stamp duty and is purely intended to be used as a benchmark or summary for each week. One newspaper top ten picks for 2013 has been included to help monitor/compare against. A pi ‘polled’ top picks list (from LSE bulletin boards) has been added and will be shown from week 2.
Week 01 stock picks summary:
No major news issued in week one so stocks were trading off pure sentiment and interest. The start to the year has been historically strong but quickly faded in past years. Meaningful news will be required to see individual stocks move significantly higher. As per the update post on what to expect in January – news flow could be thick and fast soon. So make sure you’ve got your RNS emails up-to-date.
It was a good week for all stock picks with thesharehub’s B-list ruling the roost on week 01. Demoting the Independent stock picks to second spot – unfamiliar territory for the reigning champion(two years on the trot).
The Hotlist fared well but was hampered by some profit taking on TPL which had risen strongly into Dec.
Good performances from Ophir, Afren and Providence Resources does not surprise me one bit. All had a strong 2012, but 2013 looks even better based on operational plans. The biggest winner on the week was Imagination Technologies (IMG). The stock performed well in 2012 (as high as 720p) yet had fallen sharply based on broker downgrades which seemed a little harsh considering the businesses progress. At today’s levels it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see the brokers announce their buy recs especially if they’ve been filling their boots in the sub 400p range.
For 2013, the newspaper picks have been reduced from 2 to just 1 as the Tempus Times has lacked the typical newspaper performance level of the last two years – hence has not been a good indicator due to poor performance. Instead, thesharehub will be running a ‘polled’ Pi stock picks list from the LSE bulletin boards. This list will be added on week 2 and will add a different interest / aspect to the stock picks league.
Current standings / Week 01 Results
1. TheShareHub’s ‘B’ List 2013 +3.52% (weekly gain of 3.52%)
2. The Independent 2013 +2.85% (weekly gain of 2.85%)
3. TheShareHub’s 2013 Hotlist +2.21% (weekly gain of 2.21%)
Click on Portfolio image to enlarge
