Good Morning Traders,DOW Snapshot from the previous trading...

Good Morning Traders,

DOW Snapshot from the previous trading session:

"U.S. stocks seesawed between small gains and losses Monday but remained in a narrow range at the start of a holiday-shortened week, as investors began to shift their focus to 2011.

The three major indexes continue to hover near their highest levels since 2008, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rising to fresh highs during Monday's session. The Dow touched a two-year high last week, as President Obama signed a tax-cut plan into law. Stocks have been trending higher since the compromise deal was announced.

"We've had a pretty good move up in the market that now needs to be digested," said Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management. "The market is going through its natual process of backing up a bit."

With many investors getting ready to close their books and escape their desks for the holidays, Lutts expects stocks will continue to trade in a tight range.

"Unless there's any unexpected news, markets should fall into a holding pattern and remain fairly quiet through the holiday period," he said." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Monday, 20th December, 2010:

"Another flat day for the stock market which is being held back by rising doubts over Europe, this time the threat of rating actions in Spain. US rates were little changed as was the dollar. Oil ended over $89 with gold at $1,385. The Dow ended fractionally lower at 11,478." [Source: bloomberg.com]

The DJIA Index finished the last trading session Down 13.78; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 24 pts atm.

Of note in the US this evening:

Please note there is no noteworthy 'Economic news' due to be released in the US this evening;

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

RBA Meeting's Minutes (Dec 20) [Moderate volatility expected]
[The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia meetings are published two weeks after the interest rate decision. The minutes give a full account of the policy discussion, including differences of view. They also record the votes of the individual members of the Committee. Generally speaking, if the RBA is hawkish about the inflationary outlook for the economy, then the markets see a higher possibility of a rate increase, and that is positive for the AUD.]

Westpac Leading Index (MoM) (Oct)
[The Westpac Leading Index released by the Melbourne Institute tracks nine gauges of economic activity, including share prices and telephone installations, to provide an indication of how the economy will perform. It tends to have an impact on the AUD volatility. Generally speaking, the more positive the reading, the better for the currency, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

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

Gold is currently trading Up $10.30 & is sitting at US$1,385.80/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $0.77 & is sitting at US$89.37/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ 0.9933 cents against the US Dollar[Source: Forex. Live]

Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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