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Top Ten CFD stocks for the week
Anthony Anderson, MF Global, July 25, 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.

CFD traders have had mixed views on the major banks recently, providing ample trading opportunities, notes MF Global.

Overall, the week saw traders buy (go long) National Australia Bank and Macquarie Group, buoyed by the bounce in US financials.

Oil stocks on the other hand were hardly given the same level of support; the long awaited pullback in the price of crude oil encouraged traders to pull the plug on a wide range of oil stocks this week, but primarily the big two – Santos and Woodside Petroleum.

Likewise, gold had a miserable week – punishing any trader with long positions over Newcrest Mining.

Traders also went long BHP Billiton (massive copper find and healthy production report aids confidence) and News Corporation; traders were encouraged by a weaker AUD/USD to add to their stockpiles.

Telstra and Macquarie Infrastructure Group once again appear in the top 10 list this week as trader favourites, and the new entrant to the list is Coca-Cola Amatil following a healthy Woolworths result and more encouraging sentiment for the retail sector.

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	Initially shorts covered, then longs established after rewarding pullback. Massive copper find and healthy production report aids confidence.
no.2	National Australia Bank (NAB)	LONG	Mixed views on banks, but they are certainly providing trading opportunities. NAB pulling out of ABN deal helped the stock as did US bounce in financials.
no.3	TELSTRA CORPORATION (TLS)	LONG	Traders added to long positions as momentum looked positive.
no.4	MACQUARIE GROUP LTD MQG	LONG	Macquarie reported solid start to the 2009 fiscal year. This combined with US bounce encouraged traders to add to long positions.
no.5	NEWS CORPORATION (NWS)	LONG	Aussie dollar finally displays weakness and this has added to enthusiasm for stock. Broker research adds credence to this view.
no.6	SANTOS/WOODSIDE (STO;WPL)	SHORT	Oil has long awaited pullback. This pullback has encouraged traders to short a wide range of oil stocks but primarily the big two.
no.7	WOOLWORTHS (WOW)	LONG	The strength of WOW Q4 sales and a buoyant July surprised the market and prompted aggressive buying.
no.8	NEWCREST (NCM)	SHORT	Longs in this stock were punished as gold had a very bad week. A weaker than expected production report and high energy costs inspired traders to turn around and short the stock.
no.9	Macquarie Infrastructure (MIG)	LONG	Another stock that many traders are sticking with. This support was shored up after ok revenue reports and continued talk of possible privatisation.
no.10	Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL)	LONG	A new entrant as Australian Retailers mostly perform after WOW result and leading broker stamps a buy on retail sector.