Investors continued to buy and sell financial equities in 2008’s first week of trading, research from online broker TD Waterhouse has shown.

Barclays topped the top 10 buys among TD Waterhouse’s customers, with Royal Bank of Scotland and pharmaceutical company Meldex International coming in at second and third, respectively. Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester were the two most popular sells during the week, with A&L’s share price having jumped 18% following reports of a takeover by Santander last month.

The oil sector experienced heavy trading during the first week in January as crude oil prices soared,and fears over the weakening dollar combined with heightened geopolitical tensions influenced the market.

Angus Rigby, chief executive officer at TD Waterhouse, said: “UK investors’ interest remained strong in financial equities this week, as they contemplated the outlook for 2008. UK bank Barclays was this week’s top ten buy for TD Waterhouse customers, despite its share value slipping by 1% this week.”