daytrade diaries... august 3

Morning traders.

Market wrap: Stocks face a flat start to the week after their best month in 16 years.

Local futures traders marked the SPI down 2 points at 4205 after a mixed end to last week on Wall Street. U.S. indexes surrendered most of Friday's gains in the final hour of trade. The Nasdaq lost 0.29%, the S&P 500 was near flat at +0.07% and the Dow Jones closed 17 points or 0.19% ahead.

Precious metals miners were the pick of the sectors in the US after a powerful surge in gold futures. Gold reversed several days of weakness in a few hours after the US dollar wilted when the release of US GDP figures revealed a record fourth straight quarter of contraction. Gold futures rocketed 2% to $954.50, dragging the major American gold/silver mining index up 4%.

Crude oil futures reversed weekly losses on the weakening dollar, swinging 3.7% higher to $69.49, their highest level in a month. However, analysts warned that rising US oil stockpiles hinted at a fall in prices in coming weeks.

Spot iron ore prices last week cracked $100 per metric ton for the first time since 2008. The spot price for ore delivered from India to China rose 5.8% to $100.50 a ton, according to Metal Bulletin. Base metals had another solid session on Friday and continue to build on recent gains. Copper rose 2.3% and aluminium 0.6%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

GOLD: Local stocks have some catching up to do today after Friday's steep rally in gold futures after our market closed. All the precious metals miners on the American Phlx Gold Silver Index rose more than 3% on Friday. The challenge here, as always, is finding a gold miner without all the gains priced in at the open.

OIL: A similar story here. Crude oil futures are at a one-month high and again threaten the US$70 mark.

WINDOW DRESSING UNWOUND?: On a more cautious note, last week's Thursday-Friday surge had a whiff of institutional end-of-the-month window dressing about it. If so, we will see some selling today. Financial stocks, in particular, look over-extended. It may pay to be patient this morning.

It's good to be back in the saddle after a week's break. Many thanks to Iceman and any others for launching the threads last week. Good luck to all today.