Morning Traders,US Market Results (10 min charts) :...

Morning Traders,

US Market Results (10 min charts) :



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The ASX June SPI futures contract closed the night session only 2 points weaker (-.04%) at 4604.

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Wall Street mixed amid Greece, US data
Published 9:46 PM, 2 Jun 2011 Last update 5:21 AM, 3 Jun 2011


Reuters

NEW YORK - US stocks rebounded from early lows but struggled to find direction as news of fresh help for Greece calmed investors worried about the economic outlook ahead of a key jobs report.

Senior euro zone officials tentatively agreed on a new three-year adjustment plan for Greece, according to a source. The S&P 500 recouped some lost ground on the news after earlier taking out its May low at 1,311.80.

"Markets are focused on two 'Es' right now: Europe and employment, and if there's stability in those, that will lead to greater market confidence," said Tom Galvin, managing director and lead portfolio manager at Columbia Management in Stamford, Connecticut.

Nervous investors focused on key market levels to manage risk ahead of Friday's non-farm payroll report. Data showing stubbornly high jobless claims and mixed chain-store sales gave investors little reason to get back into the market after a string of weak economic data sparked equities' worst one-day fall in nearly a year on Wednesday.

Traders are honing in on the May low as near-term support. If that level is broken at the close, it could open the window to a move back to the April low at 1,294, and the March lows near 1,250 to 1,260, the index's 200-day moving average.

"The market is trying to stabilise from the whiplash we had yesterday, but we need to see further gains in employment to see a move in the market out of this range," Mr Galvin said.

Initial jobless claims slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 422,000 in the latest week, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast 415,000.

Friday's non-farm payroll report is expected to show 150,000 jobs added in May, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of economists. A weak read by ADP on private employers on Wednesday prompted many analysts to sharply scale back their forecasts.

Bank stocks stabilised after falling on news that Goldman Sachs Group Inc was subpoenaed by New York prosecutors seeking information on its role leading into the global financial crisis. Goldman's stock fell 1.4 per cent to $US134.26, while the KBW Banks index rose 0.4 per cent after falling earlier.

Moody's Investors Service said there was a small but rising risk of a short-lived default by the United States if the government's statutory debt limit was not increased in coming weeks. As the risk was not seen as large, equities had little reaction to the announcement.

Retailers reported growth in May same-store sales, though the growth was less robust than expected as consumers were hit by high gasoline prices. Gap Inc fell 3.3 per cent to $US18.28, while Costco Wholesale Corp lost 1 per cent to $US79.40. Luxury retailer Tiffany & Co rose 0.5 per cent to $US73.79.

"There were some decent retail results, especially at the high end, which suggests that the consumer is by no means in a foxhole," Mr Galvin said.

Strength in education stocks supported the Nasdaq after US officials relaxed rules that could have cut off tuition aid to programs run by for-profit colleges.

Corinthian Colleges Inc surged 27 per cent to $US5.07. Apollo Group Inc jumped 9.6 per cent to $US46.23 and was one of the top gainers on the S&P consumer discretionary sector.

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Aust stocks post worst fall in 12 months
Published 10:17 AM, 2 Jun 2011 Last update 4:20 PM, 2 Jun 2011


By a staff reporter, with AAP

The Australian sharemarket has fallen throughout the day's trade, wiping off more than $30 billion, after a slew of negative US data overnight and a a move by Moody's to downgrade Greece's credit rating.

At the 1615 AEST offical market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had slumped 2.27 per cent to 4600.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index slid 2.2 per cent to 4683.2 points.

The day shaved more than a hundred points of each index as the sharemarket slumped to its biggest one-day loss by percentage in a year.

CMC Markets sales trader Ben Taylor said a lot of direction was coming from overseas markets, which fell by similar levels overnight.

"There was a shocking set of PMI data for the UK, China and euro zone, then the US markets fell last night," he said.

Volumes were also stronger than recently, with preliminary national turnover at 2.21 billion securities, with 911 stocks down, 247 up and 368 unchanged.

Resources stocks dragged on the market, with both major miners firmly in the red.

Rio Tinto slid 1.77 per cent to $80.10, after entering a joint venture deal with Chinalco to explore mainland China for world class mineral deposits.

Rival BHP Billiton dropped 2.2 per cent to $43.55, after the group suffered a train derailment on one of its key iron ore routes in the Western Australian Pilbara region, which may impact its deliveries for the quarter.

Former BHP China president and veteran China watcher Clinton Dines says that claims of China potentially exporting inflation to the rest of the world are overcooked and warned that mining giants BHP and Rio should make the most of their strong pricing position on commodities, while they can.

Among gold stocks, Eldorado Gold lost 2.64 per cent to $14.37 and Newcrest sank 1.69 per cent to $38.75.

In crude, Woodside Petroleum slipped 1.81 per cent to $45.86, while Santos dropped 3.71 per cent to $14.27 and Oil Search dipped 1.9 per cent to $6.71.

Financial stocks were weaker, with the big four banks falling sharply.

National Australia Bank led the charge, plummeting 6.29 per cent to $24.43, after the stock paid a dividend and investors worried over the bank's European exposures.

Commonwealth Bank lost 1.9 per cent to $49.40, ANZ shrunk 2.54 per cent to $21.44 and Westpac dove 2.27 per cent to $21.45.

In insurance stocks, QBE lost 1.94 per cent to $17.64, IAG was flat at $3.60 and Suncorp gave up 2.01 per cent to $8.28.

Retailer stocks traded in negative territory but generally outperformed the market, with Coles owner Wesfarmers slipping 1.62 per cent to $32.59, though the multi-facetted company also reported heavy rainfall during the April quarter at its Curragh metallurgical coal mine in Queensland hampered recovery efforts, forcing the company to downgrade sales guidance.

Rival Woolworths decreased 1.6 per cent to $26.95.

David Jones dropped 3.34 per cent to $4.05, while rival Myer slid 1.76 per cent to 2.78.

Blue chip Telstra shed 1.32 per cent to $2.99 after Communications Minister Stephen Conroy ruled it could sell its wholesale services cheaper to its retail arm than to its competitors during the NBN rollout.

Qanats eased 0.94 per cent to $2.09.

ASX fell 1.66 per cent to $31.81, after a Senate estimates hearing was been told that a number of concerns led to the dismissal of the proposed merger between ASX and SGX.

In economics news, retail sales beat expectations in April, indicating households may be growing more confident after months of cautious consumption and helping the Australian dollar edge higher.

The Australian trade surplus narrowed in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said.

On Wednesday, Australian stocks overcame a weak start to finish flat, as market players digested manufacturing data from China and local growth figures.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down one point at 4,707.3, after dipping below 4,700 during the day, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.3 point to 4,788.6, having reached an intraday low of 4,776.5.


News source : Business spectator

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