daytrades april 21 morning ...

Hoppy Easter Traders,

Firstly, please note the attached ASX Trading Calendar which shows the non-business and non-trading dates throughout 2011 (inclusive of the Easter break) - fyi!

US Market Report:

Stocks surged higher on Wednesday, with the Dow rising nearly 200 points and the Nasdaq rising 2%, as Wall Street rallied behind solid earnings results out of the technology sector. Wednesday's rally was all about tech earnings, with Intel, Yahoo and IBM all reporting solid results after the close on Tuesday. "I was pretty amazed by Intel's results in particular," said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager with Synovus Trust Co., who follows technology closely. "Yes the economy continues to struggle, but tech is holding its own."

Also bolstering the tech sector was software developer VMWare (VMW), which jumped 14% a day after reporting strong earnings.

A positive housing report added more fuel to the rally. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 3.7% in March, better than what economists had expected. [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Wednesday, 20th April, 2011

Strong sales from Intel boosted confidence in the technology outlook and helped lift the Dow 1.5 percent to 12,453. A strong gain in existing home sales was another plus. Gold ended at another record, this time over $1,500. A run of draws in weekly petroleum inventory data focused attention on supply constraints and helped to push oil over $111. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

A back-to-back jump in jobless claims could raise concern over Japanese supply effects. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Up 186.79 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 47 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

Jobless Claims [ Market moving indicator]

Philadelphia Fed Survey [ Market moving indicator]

Housing Price Index (MoM) (Feb) [ Merits extra attention]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Producer Price Index (QoQ) (YoY) (Q1) [ Merits extra attention]
[The Producer Price Index released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics measures the average changes in prices in the Australian markets by producers of commodities. Changes in the PPI are widely followed as an indicator of commodity inflation. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

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

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Gold is currently trading Down $1.40 & is sitting at US$1,500.60/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $0.19 & is sitting at US$111.64/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0682c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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