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

Good Morning Traders,

DOW Snapshot from the previous trading session:

"U.S. stocks took a hit Wednesday, as weak results from Goldman Sachs pressured financial shares and weighed on the overall market.

"So far, earnings have gotten off to a mixed start," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group. "We've seen very positive results from tech giants like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and IBM, but financial companies are still dealing with new financial regulation, weakness in the housing market and slow loan growth."
Shares of Goldman Sachs and Bank of America declined more than 4% Wednesday, while shares of Morgan Stanley and Barclays fell more than 3%.

Sheldon said that going forward he would not be surprised to see a modest pullback. "Historically, stocks run up into earnings season but experience some profit taking once companies start reporting," he said. Next week, more than 100 S&P 500 companies open their financial books.

But Sheldon added that any weakness in stocks will be short-term.

"As long as the direction of the economy remains on track, the outlook for markets remains positive, at least for the first half of the year," he said.

Investors will also be paying close attention to Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States as the White House plays host Wednesday to both Hu and a group of American and Chinese business leaders.

"I don't believe the visit will produce any real changes that the U.S. is looking for in terms of a re-evaluation of the yuan, so people will be looking carefully at what agreements can be made in terms of American companies exploring bigger opportunities in China," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Wednesday, 19th January, 2011

"Weak results from Goldman Sachs and American Express followed yesterday�s weak results from Citigroup. Financials are not alone as growth rates are no longer getting a boost from easy recession comparisons. Construction is one area that is still in recession as housing starts for 2010 came in at just 587,600, next only to 2009�s 554,000 as the lowest in 51 years of available data.

The stock market was flat with the Dow fractionally lower to 11,825. Commodities edged lower with oil back under $92. Rates also edged lower with the 30-year Treasury down four basis points to 4.52 percent. Strong demand for a $1 billion Portuguese T-bill auction gave the euro a boost and hurt the dollar with the dollar index down a half percent to 78.59." [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

"Another rise in initial jobless claims would scramble the outlook for January�s employment report." [Source: bloomberg.com]

The DJIA Index last finished the last trading session Down 12.64 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 49 points atm.

Of note in the US this evening:

Jobless Claims [ Market moving indicator]

Existing Home Sales [ Market moving indicator]

Philadelphia Fed Survey [ Market moving indicator]

EIA Petroleum Status Report [ Moderate volatility expected]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Please note there is no noteworthy 'Economic news' due to be reported in Australia today.

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

Gold is currently trading Up $2.80 & is sitting at US$1,370.50/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Down $0.52 & is sitting at US$90.86/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $0.9977c against the US Dollar[Source: Forex. Live]

Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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