daytrades may 25 morning ...

Good Morning Traders,

US Market Report:

Investors are on edge as they face a series of headwinds that just don't seem to be going away: a slowing U.S. recovery, European debt problems and the end of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program.

All of that means that "gains will be harder to come by," warned Bob Doll, BlackRock chief equity strategist, in a recent client note. On the bright side, the uptrend will continue, "but at a more challenged pace," he added.

It's already been a choppy week and it's only Tuesday. After getting hammered in the previous session, stocks were struggling to recover.
May has been especially rough for the stock market. The Dow and S&P 500 have both lost more than 3%, and the Nasdaq has tumbled 4% since the start of the month. [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Tuesday, 24th May, 2011

A solid two-month run for new home sales, which may now be moving up from the bottom, couldn't turn the focus away from Greece where building talk of default sent investors into the safety of gold which gained $20 to $1,525. Firm oil, near $100, is another feature of the markets. Rates were little changed while the Dow slipped slightly to 12,356. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

Not much is expected from durable goods so even slight weakness, let alone a gain, could fire up the bulls. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Down 25.05 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 3 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

Durable Goods Orders [ Market moving indicator]

EIA Petroleum Status Report [ Merits extra attention]

Narayana Kocherlakota speaks
[Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President - Speech to the Chamber of Commerce in Rochester, Minnesota.]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Construction Work Done (Q1) [ Merits extra attention]
[The Construction Work Done released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics measures the number of construction work done in the last month. It is a key indicator of the Australian construction sector. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

Conference Board Australia Leading Index (Mar)
[The Conference Board Australia leading Index released by the Conference Board measures future trends of the overall economic activity including employment, average manufacturing workweek, initial claims, permits for new housing construction, stock prices and yield curve. It forecasts short to mid-term growth in the Australian economy. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

Westpac Leading Index (MoM) (Mar)
[The Westpac Leading Index released by the Melbourne Institute tracks nine gauges of economic activity, including share prices and telephone installations, to provide an indication of how the economy will perform. It tends to have an impact on the AUD volatility. Generally speaking, the more positive the reading, the better for the currency, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

...AND...

Of note elsewhere today/this evening:

Japan - BoJ's Governor Shirakawa Speech [ Merits extra attention]

Germany - Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey (Jun) [ Merits extra attention]

United Kingdom - Total Business Investment (QoQ) (YoY) (Q1) [ Merits extra attention]

United Kingdom - Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) (YoY) (Q1) [ Merits extra attention]

[Sources used: bloomberg.com; dailyfx.com; fxstreet.com; nasdaq.com]

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Gold is currently trading Down $1.40c atm and is sitting at US$1,524.70/oz [Source: Kitco]
Oil (Nymex Crude) is currently trading Down $0.37 & is sitting at US$99.22/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0556c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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