daytrade diaries... october 8, page-28

Good morning,

US Stocks seesawed Wednesday, with blue chips weaker and techs a bit higher as a two-day advance petered out amid a mixed dollar, lower oil prices and some jitters at the start of the quarterly financial reporting period.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 6 points, or 0.1%, according to early tallies.

The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose 3 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) rose 7 points, or 0.7%.

Some analysts are saying "I think people are looking at the weakness in the jobs market and the run-up stocks have already seen, and they're a bit nervous,"

LONDON - European stock markets closed weaker on Wednesday as investors for the most part stayed on the sidelines, waiting for signs that key US companies had secured healthy profits in the third quarter.

The London FTSE index fell 29.08, or 0.57 per cent, to 5108.9.

FRANKFURT - The DAX dropped 16.89 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5640.75.

PARIS - The CAC 40 index closed down 13.8 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 3756.41.

Oil prices fell as traders shrugged off an unexpected drop in crude stockpiles and focused instead on government data that showed Americans still have little appetite for more petroleum.

Benchmark crude for November delivery lost $US1.31 to settle at $US69.57 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Australian

share market is expected to open flat on Thursday following weak leads from Wall Street and European markets overnight.
At 0639 AEDT on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract was seven points lower at 4709.

In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) releases labour force data for September.

Gold up $4.70 to US$1044.40 an ounce
Silver up 20.5c to US$17.50 an ounce
Copper down .05c at US$2.7795 a pound

http://www.marketwatch.com/
http://www.thebull.com.au/
http://www.news.com.au/business/

Buying companies because they have a familiar name or product. Many of the best investments will be names you may not know very well. However, a little research can lead you towards them.