'Happy Valentines Day' heart throbbers (lol), US Market...

'Happy Valentines Day' heart throbbers (lol),

US Market Report:

"Stocks finished a strong week at multi-year highs on Friday, as investors cheered the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

For the week, the three major indexes closed more than 1% higher. The Dow and the S&P also ended Friday's session at their highest levels since mid-June, 2008.

After weeks of anti-government protests, Mubarak relinquished his power Friday, clearing up uncertainty about escalating tensions in the country. "Mubarak stepping down was the right thing to do, and from the perspective of the U.S. economy and markets it eliminates that geopolitical risk and uncertainty," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors.
The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gives stocks one more reason to continue heading higher in the coming week.

Uncertainty still reigns over the transition and what the new Egyptian government will look like, but Wall Street is breathing a sigh of relief for now as worries about escalating violence and unrest in the region fade. "We've swerved around another pothole," said Burt White, Chief Investment Officer of LPL Financial. "We're on our way to finding a future state in Egypt, and that's definitely lowering the blood pressure of investors." That doesn't mean there won't be more stress, he warned.

Like the sovereign debt crisis in Europe that continues popping up and spooking investors, more worries about political unrest may erupt in the coming week -- especially if other countries decide to follow Egypt's lead." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Friday, 11th February, 2011

"Risk premiums in oil and gold are easing following the announcement of Mubarak's resignation. Assuming that a post-Mubarak transition is orderly, investor focus will now return to economic developments. Oil fell nearly two percent, all the way back to $85 which is where it was when the Egyptian unrest began. Gold fell a half percent to the $1,350 area. The news gave a lift to the Dow which rose nearly a half percent to 12,273.

The day's economic news is good led by another month of strength in exports. Consumer sentiment on current conditions improved though pessimism over the outlook increased. But the data were overshadowed by rising concern over Portugal which is raising demand for the dollar and the safety of U.S. Treasuries, demand however that did ease slightly when the Egyptian news broke. The dollar index rose slightly to 78.38 while the 10-year yield fell six basis points to 3.63 percent." [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

"The latest on Egypt will not only affect markets, so will the latest on Portugal." [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Up 43.97 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 39 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

William Dudley speaks
[New York Federal Reserve Bank President - Quarterly regional economic press briefing on household debt and current trends, in New York.]

Of note in Australia today:

Home Loans (Dec)
[The Home Loans released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics presents the number of home loans. It indicates the housing market trend in Australia and a level of consumer confidence as large housing loans are taken out. A high reading is seen positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen negative (or bearish).]

...AND...

Of note in China today:

Trade Balance (Jan) [ Merits extra attention]

[Sources used: bloomberg.com; dailyfx.com; fxstreet.com; nasdaq.com]
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Gold is currently trading Down $6.70 & is sitting at US$1,356.80/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Down $1.15 & is sitting at US$85.58/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0006c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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