Good Morning Traders,US Market Report:"Stocks have been on a run...

Good Morning Traders,

US Market Report:

"Stocks have been on a run since late August, and investment experts have been warning that the market is due for a short-term correction. With political unrest in the Arab world and the January jobs report taking center stage this week, the catalyst for a downward move may finally be here.

After rising to the highest levels since the summer of 2008 and crossing key psychological milestones -- the Dow topped 12,000 and the S&P hit 1,300 last week -- stocks took a hard hit Friday as investors watched anti-government demonstrations unfold in Egypt.

"We are worried about the developing geopolitical risk in the Middle East and North Africa," said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors. "We do not know where it will spread, nor do we know how it will run its course."

Protests in Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, and now Egypt, could continue to have a domino effect across the Arab world. As such, Kotok said he raised the cash positions in his portfolios at the end last week to the highest levels since 2008.

While political instability alone will likely upset the market, the wounds could be deeper if the turmoil spills over to major oil producers like Iran. Amid the uncertainty, oil prices spiked more than 4% last Friday." [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Friday, 28th January, 2011

"Rising unrest in Egypt made for a move into safety in the financial markets especially ahead of the weekend. Gold jumped two percent toward $1,340 while the dollar index rose a half percent to 78.15. Rates fell four to six basis points across the curve with the 10-year yield at 3.33 percent. The move in oil is especially steep, up four percent toward $90 but, according to traders, is not really tied to Middle East supply risks rather is a short-covering correction from oil's prior steep downmove. Money moved out of the stock market where the Dow fell nearly a 1-1/2 percentage points to just above 11,800." [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

"We already know personal spending is better. But how's personal income doing?" [Source: bloomberg.com]

The DJIA Index last finished the last trading session Down 166.13 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 49 points atm.

Of note in the US this evening:

Personal Income and Outlays [ Market moving indicator]

Chicago PMI [ Merits extra attention]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Private Sector Credit (MoM) (YoY) (Dec)
[The Private Sector Credit released by the Reserve Bank of Australia is an amount of money that the Australian private sector borrows. It shows if the private sector can afford large expenses, which can fuel economic growth. It is considered as an indicator of business conditions and the overall economic condition in Australia. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or Bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative.]

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

Gold is currently trading Up $23.50 & is sitting at US$1,338.40/oz atm [Source: Kitco]
Oil is currently trading Up $3.70 & is sitting at US$89.34/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $0.9900c against the US Dollar[Source: Forex. Live]

Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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