daytrades sep 30 pre-market

Morning traders.

Market wrap: A soft start to local trade is likely as investors weigh modest losses on Wall Street against solid gains in key commodities.

The December SPI futures contract this morning closed 5 points weaker at 4668 after a choppy, directionless session in the U.S.

The Dow swung in and out of positive territory before wilting to a 23-point or 0.21% loss. The S&P 500 fell 0.26% and the Nasdaq 0.13%.

"The market's had a nice rally and it's waiting on the next factor to get it through the next level," a senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets in the U.S. told Bloomberg. "As the quarter ends and before earnings coming up, the market's been swinging up and down."

European markets fell as protesters in a dozen countries marched against austerity packages intended to ease sovereign debt issues. Britain's FTSE eased 0.16%, Germany's DAX 0.46% and France's CAC 0.67%.

U.S. banks tracked their European counterparts lower on concerns over their exposure to the crisis in the euro-zone. Also harming financial sector sentiment were earnings downgrades for leading companies from leading analyst Meredith Whitney and Goldman Sachs as the profit outlook for merchant banks dims under weak U.S. growth.

A surge in the price of oil boosted energy companies but weighed on U.S. retailers. Crude futures jumped nearly $2 off their intraday low after the Department of Energy announced stockpiles fell by 475,000 barrels to 357.9 million barrels last week - much more than the 300,000-barrel decline expected by analysts. Crude futures were recently up $1.60 or 2.1% at $77.78 a barrel.

Commodity prices were helped by a fall in the U.S. dollar index to an eight-month low. The index, which measures the greenback against six currencies, was recently trading 0.3% lower at 78.77.

Metals benefitted from the weaker dollar and yesterday's strong Chinese manufacturing data. Copper marked a new two-year high as a smelter in India closed and inventories continued to fall. In late trade in London, copper was up 1.9%, aluminium 1.4%, lead 0.8%, nickel 0.6%, tin 1.3% and zinc 0.4%.

Silver and gold continued their record runs. December silver rallied 1.1% to a new 30-year high at $21.95 an ounce. Spot gold also set a new record high near $1,314 and was trading recently at $1,309.70 or 70 cents stronger than Tuesday's New York close.

TRADING THEMES TODAY

TOPPING OUT? U.S. markets have gone nowhere this week, treading water for the last three sessions following Friday's big kick higher. There are parallels with early August, when the Dow had a last kick higher at the end of an up-leg, hovered for a few sessions and then dropped for the next three weeks. Economic conditions in the U.S. appear more benign now than they did then but euro-zone troubles could be the catalyst for a short-term reversal. This is just speculation, of course, and we should trade what's in front of us. Nonetheless, there are signs of the exuberance in the speculative end of our market that often marks a short-term top. Let's enjoy the party while it lasts, but it may pay to have one eye on the exit.

ECONOMIC NEWS: A slew of local data hits the market at 11.30 am: monthly building approvals, monthly private sector credit and the twice-yearly Reserve Bank Financial Stability Review. It's also busy tonight in the U.S., with weekly unemployment claims, quarterly GDP, regional manufacturing, natural gas storage and testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

Good luck to all.