Good Morning Traders, Well, thank goodness for small mercies as...

Good Morning Traders,

Well, thank goodness for small mercies as TC Yasi wasn't as catastrophic as they had predicted it was going to be ... but you better watch out for the price of bananas in that basket of goods tho, hehehe!

US Market Report:

"Stocks were little changed Wednesday, holding above key technical levels, as investors weighed uncertainty about Egypt against signs of strength in the U.S. labor market and generally positive earnings news.

U.S. stocks started February with a bang Tuesday. The Dow and S&P 500 closed above key psychological levels for the first time in more than two years, with the Dow finishing above 12,000. But the tone was cautious Wednesday amid ongoing political unrest in Egypt, where anti-government protestors clashed with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak. "People are keeping one eye on Egypt and one eye on the domestic economy," said Ryan Larson, a senior equity trader at RBC Global Asset Management, who braved a blizzard in Chicago on his way to work Wednesday.

On the domestic front, investors for the most part looked past a better-than-expected report on private-sector payrolls, and a seasonal increase in planned job cuts in January. While those reports were encouraging, investors are looking ahead to Friday's employment report from the government for confirmation that the labor market is improving. The Labor Department is expected to report a 148,000 job increase in January, compared to 113,000 the prior month. Unemployment is expected to have notched up to 9.5% in January, compared to 9.4% the prior month. "The market is consolidating a two-day run and waiting for the jobs report on Friday," said Burt White, chief investment officer with LPL Financial in Boston. White said investors are also focusing on commodity prices as "chaos events" around the world threaten to disrupt supply chains.

"There is bad weather in Australia and the U.S., and there is still concern about the Suez Canal in Egypt," he said. In Australia, Cyclone Yasi, a Category 5 storm, the highest designation on Australia's classification system, made landfall late Wednesday night, local time. Sugar futures surged to a 30-year high as investors worried that Yasi could ravage Australia's crops. Consumer commodities such as cocoa and cotton also rose, as well as agricultural products like wheat and corn. Oil futures, which spiked last week when turmoil erupted in Egypt, edged near $91 per barrel.

Meanwhile, investors did some selective buying of companies that reported quarterly results." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Wednesday, 2nd February, 2011

"Money flows early this week moved away from safety and toward risk as if investors were discounting a return of the status quo in Egypt and the maintenance of the status quo in the Middle East. Today's physical attack of Mubarak's opponents in the streets of Cairo has raised the risk that the status quo will be imposed. Wednesday's attack brought a standstill to the markets which await the unfolding of events. Oil was little changed at $91 and the Dow was little changed at 12,042.

Rates did move higher in a sign of safe-haven demand with the 2-year yield up a sharp five basis points to 0.66 percent. The dollar, which despite Egypt had been falling not rising this week, also found some support, rising fractionally on the dollar index to 77.11. Gold isn't finding much safe-haven demand, down slightly on the day to $1,333." [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

"Weather effects have been clouding jobless claims. A clear reading, even a single week's, would offer badly needed indications for Friday's employment report." [Source: bloomberg.com]

The DJIA Index last finished the last trading session Up 1.81 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 2 points atm.

Of note in the US this evening:

Ben Bernanke speaks [ Market moving indicator]

ECB Announcement [ Market moving indicator]

Jobless Claims [ Market moving indicator]

Productivity and Costs [ Merits extra attention]

Factory Orders [ Merits extra attention]

ISM Non-Mfg Index [ Merits extra attention]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Trade Balance (Dec) [ Merits extra attention]
[The trade balance released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the difference in the value of its imports and exports of Australian goods. Export data can give an important reflection of Australian growth, while imports provide an indication of domestic demand. Trade Balance gives an early indication of the net export performance. If a steady demand in exchange for Australian exports is seen, that would turn into a positive growth in the trade balance, and that should be positive for the AUD.]

AiG Performance of Services Index
[AiG Performance of Services Index released by the Australian Industry Group presents business conditions in the Australian service sector. The group surveys 200 manufacturers on their assessment of the business situation including employment, production, orders, prices, and inventories, and their short-term planning. A result above 50 is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a result below 50 is seen as negative (or bearish).]

Building Permits (MoM) (YoY) (Dec)
[The Building Permits released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the number of permits for new construction projects. It implies the movement of corporate investments (the Australian economic development). It tends to cause some volatility to the AUD. The more growing number of permits, the more positive (or bullish) for the AUD.]

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

Gold is currently trading Down $6.90 & is sitting at US$1,335.00/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $0.09 & is sitting at US$90.86/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0096c against the US Dollar[Source: Forex. Live]

Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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