daytrades may 18 morning ...

Good Morning Traders,

US Market Report:

Stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors digested a weak outlook from Hewlett-Packard, a grim read on the housing market and an unexpected drop in April industrial production.

Despite those negative factors, stocks ended the session well off the lows set earlier in the day.

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said housing starts plunged a worse-than-expected 10.6% in April, while the Federal Reserve said industrial production was flat in April due in part to the Japanese earthquake. Economists were looking for a gain in the industrial production figures.

"There's a lot of negative sentiment in the market at the moment," said Stephen Carl, head trader with Williams Capital. [Source: cnnmoney.com]

Market Reflections - Tuesday, 17th May, 2011
Weak economic data made for a second straight 1/2 percentage point decline for the Dow which ended at 12,479. Housing starts failed to build on March's gain and instead fell back sharply in April which raises new questions over the sector and on the outlook for construction jobs. Industrial production was flat in April, weighed down by manufacturing, which nevertheless remains the economy's greatest strength. In its semi-annual survey, the Institute For Supply Management added to the day's bad news showing very limited investment plans in the non-manufacturing sector, the sector that's home to the bulk of the nation's jobs. [Source: bloomberg.com]

Market Focus in the US this evening

The struggle to promote job growth is certain to be a top feature of today's FOMC minutes. [Source: bloomberg.com]
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The DJIA Index finished the last trading session: Down 68.79 points; and
The SPI Futures are currently: Down 4 points atm.
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Of note in the US this evening:

FOMC Minutes [Market moving indicator]

EIA Petroleum Status Report [Merits extra attention]

James Bullard speaks
[St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President - Speech to the Money Marketeers in New York.]

...AND...

Of note in Australia today:

Westpac Consumer Confidence (May) [Merits extra attention]
[The Westpac Consumer Confidence released by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute captures the level of sentiment that individuals have in economic activity reflecting respondents' evaluations of their family finances over the past and coming year, expectations about the one-year and five-year economic conditions and views about current buying conditions for major household items. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

Wage Price Index (QoQ) (YoY) (Q1) [Merits extra attention]
[The Wage Price Index released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is an indicator of labor cost inflation and of the tightness of labor markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia pays close attention to it when setting interest rates. A high reading is positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).]

...AND...

Of note elsewhere today/this evening:

United Kingdom - Bank of England Minutes [Market moving indicator]

Canada - Leading Indicators (MoM) (Apr) [Merits extra attention]

Japan - Gross Domestic Product Deflator (YoY) (Q1) [Merits extra attention]

Japan - Gross Domestic Product Annualized (Q1) [Merits extra attention]

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

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Gold is currently trading Up $0.50c atm and is sitting at US$1,487.50/oz [Source: Kitco]
Oil (Nymex Crude) is currently trading Up $0.93 & is sitting at US$97.84/bbl atm [Source: Bloomberg]
The Dollar: The AUD is currently trading @ $1.0627c against the US Dollar [Source: Forex. Live]
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Have a great day trading today all.

Cheers, Tweets

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