daytrade diaries... october 29

Morning traders. Umbrellas up.

Market wrap: Substantial losses on overseas equity and commodity markets point to a fourth day in the red for local stocks.

Futures traders expect our market to open at its lowest level in almost four weeks as the global rally endures a long-expected correction. The SPI futures index closed 80 points lower at 4612.

Wall Street was on the back foot from the start of the session after heavy losses in Europe. Britain's FTSE dropped 2.32%, Germany's DAX 2.46% and France's CAC 2.1% after disappointing earnings results. Weak readings on housing and durable goods confirmed the bearish mood on Wall Street and sent the major U.S. indexes lower. The S&P 500 lost 1.95% to wipe out its gains for October, the Dow lost 1.21% and the Nasdaq was smacked hardest for a second day, down 2.67%.

New home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell 3.6% in September, the first monthly loss since March. Economists had expected sales to rise, boosted by a tax credit for first-time home buyers. Orders for durable goods met expectations of a 1% rise but failed to lift the gloomy mood.

There was red across U.S. bourses, with heavy losses for banks (-3.29%), airlines (-4.81%), biotechs (-3.97%), industrials (-3.13%), oilers (-2.9%), precious metals miners (-5.09%) and tech stocks (-2.25%).

A rising US dollar weighed on commodity prices. Oil was also crunched by a surprise jump in in US stockpiles. Crude oil futures slumped nearly 3% to recently trade at $77.19 a barrel. The spot gold price slipped nearly $12 to $1,027.70.

Base metals fell heavily on worries over supply-demand imbalances. In London, aluminium lost 3.78%, copper 1.97%, lead 1.56%, nickel 4.58%, tin 5.07% and zinc 5.32%.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

SNAPSHOT TRADING: Days like this are made for scalpers willing to snatch small snacks when the opportunity presents. I made 10 trades yesterday, all profitable, none lucrative, all positions closed by mid-afternoon. Nonetheless, they added up to a good week's wage for most people. Look for oversold shares collapsing to support levels where bounces are most likely. Be patient until the price hits your target support level, then quick to seize the opportunity. Ride the bounce and get out as soon as it falters.

INDEX SUPPORT LEVELS: Dow 10,000 is long gone. The next issue is whether the S&P 500 will hold 1,000. There's a good support level before that around 1020 that could be tested this week if these falls continue. The local market should have support around the 4570/4580 level and today's open may not be a million miles from that. If our market is going to bounce, that's the place to look for buying interest.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Yesterday's CPI figures sent our market lower, so let's hope today's August leading index of economic indicators at 11.00 am provides some support. Also due: new home sales for September. Tonight in the US: Q3 GDP, personal consumption data and jobless figures.

Good luck to all.