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

Good morning Traders,

DOW Snapshot from the previous trading session:

"Financial shares sparked a broad rally Wednesday that sent all three major indexes to fresh mulit-year highs.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 11 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) gained 20 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 finished at its highest level since August 2008, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a three year high.

Bank shares were also getting a lift from Wells Fargo's upgraded outlook for the sector. "It's a group that lagged pretty badly in the fall, and they're still playing catch-up," said Timothy Ghriskey, CIO at Solaris Asset Management.

Europe continues to be a wild card as 2011 gets underway, so investors are looking for any signs that those issues are under control." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Wednesday, 12th January, 2011

"Demand proved solid for Portugal's 3- and 9-year auctions though the European Central Bank made sure the impact isn't lost, coming into the market shortly after the auction to buy peripheral bonds. Equities got a big boost as did the euro, the latter weighing on the dollar. The Dow rose more than a half percent to 11,755 while the dollar index lost one percent to 80.07.

Economic data included signs of slowly improving economic conditions from the Fed's Beige Book. A very strong 3-year Treasury auction is a highlight of the session. Rates ended a couple of basis points higher despite the strong auction.

Demand for this week's Treasury auctions is sharply higher from the holidays as fresh money is put to work in the New Year. This inflow, boosted further by the day's gain for equities and loss for the dollar, is also heading into commodities where oil moved to a new two-year high at $92.50. Base metals continue to move up led by a more than five cent gain for copper to $4.40. Gold rose slightly to $1,387." [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

"Jobless claims are finally moving out of shortened holiday weeks. Further improvement is needed to raise what are still glum hopes for payrolls." [Source: bloomberg.com]

The DJIA Index finished the last trading session Up 83.56 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Up 26 points atm.

Of note in the US this evening:

BOE Announcement [ Market moving indicator]

ECB Announcement [ Market moving indicator]

International Trade [ Market moving indicator]

Producer Price Index [ Market moving indicator]

Jobless Claims [ Market moving indicator]

Ben Bernanke speaks [ Market moving indicator]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Unemployment Rate (Dec) [ High volatility expected]
[The Unemployment Rate release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. If the rate hikes, indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labor market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the Australian economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).]

Employment Change (Dec) [ High volatility expected]
[The Employment Change released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a measure of the change in the number of employed people in Australia. Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. Therefore, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, 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 $6.70 & is sitting at US$1,388.00/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $0.75 & is sitting at US$91.86/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $0.9959c against the US Dollar[Source: Forex. Live]

Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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