daytrades march 2 morning ...

Good morning Traders,

US Market Report:

U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday, with all three major indexes down more than 1%, as oil prices spiked to nearly $100 a barrel.

The sell-off came as oil prices for April delivery continued to head higher, climbing $2.66 to settle at $99.63 a barrel amid ongoing uprisings in Libya and the Middle East. In electronic trading, crude prices topped $100 a barrel Tuesday afternoon, after crossing that benchmark last week for the first time since 2008.

As crude climbed, gas prices rose for a seventh straight day. Meanwhile, gold prices surged $20.30, or 1.5%, to settle at a record high of $1,429.90 a barrel.

Tensions in the Middle East and North Africa will continue to cast a shadow on the market, said Matt King, chief investment officer at Bell Investment Advisors.

Investors also tuned into Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on Capitol Hill. Bernanke warned that a sustained rise in oil prices could pose a danger to economic growth.

"Bernanke's comments reconfirm what the market's fear has been since the Libyan situation started," King said. "Bernanke hasn't been too concerned about inflation, especially in relation to high commodity prices, so this is the first time he's outlining a potential scenario with inflation." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Tuesday, 1st March, 2011

West Texas Intermediate broke over $100 late in the day while gold hit a new record at $1,435, both in reaction to a rush of reports of new confrontation in Libya and the pending of arrival of U.S. vessels. There are also rumors of rising unrest in Iran as well as unrest in a host of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia. The Dow slide into the close, losing 1.4 percent to 12,058.

Ben Bernanke downplayed the rise in oil saying the most likely result will be a modest and temporary rise in consumer inflation. It's not inflation that's driving dramatically strong order and production readings in the ISM manufacturing report where respondents base their month-to-month assessments in volume terms, not dollar terms. Based on the ISM data, along with strong monthly sales data from auto manufacturers, high oil prices posed no headwinds to growth during February. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

Ben Bernanke gets another day on the hot seat which, given $100 oil and record gold prices, looks to get a little bit hotter. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Down 168.32 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 58 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

Ben Bernanke speaks [ Market moving indicator]
[Federal Reserve Chairman - Semi-annual monetary policy report to House Financial Services Committee in Washington.]

ADP Employment Report [ Merits extra attention]

EIA Petroleum Status Report [ Merits extra attention]

Beige Book [ Merits extra attention]

Dennis Lockhart speaks
[Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President - Answers questions on the economy and monetary policy to the Southeast Venture Conference in Atlanta.]

Thomas Hoenig speaks
[Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President - Speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) (YoY) (Q4) [ Market moving indicator]
[The Gross Domestic Product released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a measure of the total value of all goods and services produced by Australia. The GDP is considered as a broad measure of Swiss economic activity and health. A rising trend has a positive effect on the AUD, while a falling trend is seen as negative (or bearish) for the AUD.]

HIA New Home Sales (MoM) (Jan) [ Merits extra attention]
[HIA New Home Sales released by the Housing Industry Association presents the number of new home sales in Australia. It indicates the housing market condition. House buyers spend money on furnishing and financing their homes, which stimulates the demand for goods, services, and the employees. Thus, a high reading is seen as bullish (or positive) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as bearish (or negative).]

[Sources used: bloomberg.com; dailyfx.com; fxstreet.com; nasdaq.com]
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Gold is currently trading Up $22.00 & is sitting at US$1,433.20/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $2.66 & is sitting at US$99.63/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0126c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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