Happy 'Feel the Love Friday' Traders! (lol) I just couldn't help...

Happy 'Feel the Love Friday' Traders! (lol)

I just couldn't help myself - I stole that title from the XJO thread, lol!!!

US Market Report:

U.S. stocks rose to multi-year highs on Thursday, as investors dismissed a series of mixed earnings reports as well as disappointing economic news. [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Thursday, 28th April, 2011

The economy lost momentum in the first quarter, growing at only 1.8 percent vs the fourth quarter when growth was a more healthy 3.1 percent. So far in the second quarter it looks like the jobs market may be losing momentum at least judging by weekly initial jobless claims which posted a third straight reading over 400,000.

But strong earnings together with a still accommodative Federal Reserve is a good mix for the Dow which rose 1/2 percent to 12,763. An accommodative Fed is a central factor behind gold which climbed near $1,540 in record ground and given a boost by weakness in the dollar which fell another 1/2 percent on the dollar index. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

Watch to see if consumer sentiment is building momentum off March's lows. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Up 72.35 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 9 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

Ben Bernanke speaks [ Market moving indicator]
[Federal Reserve Chairman - Speech to the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank Community Affairs Research Conference in Arlington, Virginia.]

Personal Income and Outlays [ Market moving indicator]

Employment Cost Index [ Merits extra attention]

Chicago PMI [ Merits extra attention]

Consumer Sentiment [ Merits extra attention]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Private Sector Credit (MoM) (YoY) (Mar) [ Merits extra attention]
[The Private Sector Credit released by the Reserve Bank of Australia is an amount of money that the Australian private sector borrows. It shows if the private sector can afford large expenses, which can fuel economic growth. It is considered as an indicator of business conditions and the overall economic condition in Australia. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or Bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative.]

...AND...

Of note Elsewhere today:

Canada - Gross Domestic Product (MoM) (Feb) [ Market moving indicator]

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

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Gold is currently trading Down $1.20 & is sitting at US$1,534.60/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Down $0.20 & is sitting at US$112.66/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0934c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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