daytrades april 13 morning ...

Good Morning traders,

US Market Report:

U.S. stocks were headed for a weak open Tuesday, after Cisco announced impending job cuts, and Japanese officials raised the threat level at the Fukushima nuclear plant to the same as Chernobyl.

Early Tuesday, the Japanese government bumped up the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to a level that put it on par with the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

The plant was damaged when it was hit by a tsunami that followed northern Japan's massive March 11 earthquake. Since then, more than 400 aftershocks of a 6.0 magnitude or greater have struck the country, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency.

"When you look at Japan today, they're not only recovering from the earthquake, but also from a major nuclear crisis -- and that raises concerns that we may have supply shortages coming out of there," said James Shelton, chief investment officer of Kanaly Trust in Houston, which manages $1.7 billion.

Asian markets sold off following the news, starting with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong losing 1.3% and Japan's Nikkei tumbling 1.7%. Shanghai Composite edged lower 0.1%.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 5% in the days following the first quake, but has since recovered those losses. [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Tuesday, 12th April, 2011

Import prices jumped in March due to high oil prices that have climbed since. The International Energy Agency is warning that $100 oil is incompatible with the expected pace of economic growth. In a sign of slowing global growth, US imports and exports both fell in February data that precedes the disaster in Japan and ongoing risk to the auto and electronics sectors. The demand-side view pushed oil down $3 to $106.

Alcoa's weak sales also weighed on oil as they did on the Dow which fell one percent to 12,263. Rates moved lower as flows moved into short Treasuries where the 2-year yield fell eight basis points to 0.74 percent. The dollar index fell 1/4 percentage point. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

The motor vehicle component, a big contributor in prior months, isn't likely to help retail sales in March. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Down 117.53 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 26 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

Retail Sales [ Market moving indicator]

Business Inventories [ Merits extra attention]

EIA Petroleum Status Report [ Merits extra attention]

Beige Book [ Merits extra attention]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Westpac Consumer Confidence (Apr)
[The Westpac Consumer Confidence released by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute captures the level of sentiment that individuals have in economic activity reflecting respondents' evaluations of their family finances over the past and coming year, expectations about the one-year and five-year economic conditions and views about current buying conditions for major household items. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

RBA's Governor Glenn Stevens Speech
[Glenn Stevens gives a press conference as to how the RBA observes the current Australian economy and the value of AUD. His comments may determine a short-term positive or negative trend. ]

[Sources used: bloomberg.com; dailyfx.com; fxstreet.com; nasdaq.com]
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Gold is currently trading Down $0.80 & is sitting at US$1,452.90/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Down $0.29 & is sitting at US$105.96/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0466c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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