>20 million traded by 10.24 am, page-4

Asking myself the same question, I bought in on the announcement last week @ 2.9 and was expecting better performance. Charting the energy index shows well overbought and facing resistance. However, Materials index is gaining nicely with record highs, market sentiment is changing towards materials.



Furthermore, brokers indicate shakey month to follow.

Aegis Report.
-------------
Many people worry about the month of October, and view its approach with a degree of apprehension. Most investors will be aware of October’s reputation – the 1929 crash, the 1987 crash, the big sell off in 1989 and the Asian crisis in 1997. As this month approaches there is always a remembrance of past events.

But in fact, even as October holds the record for sell- offs, history shows that it is September that is the worst performing month of the year. Studies done on market data since the beginning of the 20th century show that on average September has actually lost over 1% whereas all other months have actually gained. This spread of close to 2% is huge. It has been amongst the worst performing months in all but one of the decades of the last century.

There is no clear reason for this seasonality, although some blame it on the northern summer holiday season. Volume dries up through August as Fund Managers and brokers take their annual summer holiday, and then on their return to work, they restructure their portfolios – selling poor performers and generally starting afresh
Will history repeat? There are enough uncertainties and negative forces at the moment to dampen investor enthusiasm. We have referred to these on many occasions over the last few months - terrorism, the price of oil, the fear of interest rate rises and the US election. Yet we have been of the belief that the market will overcome these fears.

We still think that the US market is poised to move higher, in spite of the poor seasonals and the uncertainty that abounds. We think that investors need to put the next 2 months into perspective. We believe that major global equity markets are in synch, and after consolidating for the best part of this year are ready to move upward again. This commonality suggests that the underlying forces will be able to overcome the negative seasonal influences. We cannot be totally sure of this, of course, but we continue to monitor the bearish sentiment and the general caution, and we view this nervousness as a positive sign.

Another perceived negative for the US market, which has received some press lately, is the impact of the Presidential cycle.





Cheers,
Ace.