Trading Day – Ides of March

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Another eventful day on the local Aussie market, as it slumped on the open following the moves on overnight markets, recovered slightly – and absorbed the good Chinese manufacturing PMI number – before selling off coming into the close, down 1% or 42 points to 4255 points, well below the long running resistance level at 4300.

Other Asian markets are also feeling the heat, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down over 0.3% to 9693 points, the volatile Hang Seng is currently down 0.5% to 21574 points. The Shanghai Composite is currently up a few points and flat, still above its breakout from its long term downtrend channel.

The AUD is proving resilient again, staying around 1.075 against the USD, while Gold recovered from its mammoth fall last night (around $100 an ounce), gaining almost $30USD an ounce during the Asian session, currently at $1723USD per ounce or $1600AUD per ounce

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Movers and Shakers
Almost all read across the board with materials and utilities leading the fall both down around 2%, in what is semi-officially the end of earnings season, with Woolworths (WOW) the last major company to report, earlier today.

Moving on, let’s quickly check out the ASX8 (the top four banks and miners) starting with ANZ was down 1% but still in a small uptrend, with the big brother of banks, the Commonwealth (CBA) also losing 1% and still moving nowhere for now.

National Australia Bank (NAB) was only half by half a percent and as I said yesterday, there’s no reason to get excited, still sideways, whilst Westpac (WBC) followed along, losing 1% and giving back yesterdays gains.

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I’m sure bank stockholders are sick of this volatility – and maybe like their negatively geared property counterparts are writing off any capital appreciation and hoping for current yields to stay the same.

To the holes, where BHP Billiton (BHP) where the Big (mainly owned by foreigners) Australian slumped, losing 1.6% moving the index as usual. Without a big rise – at least above $38 per share – don’t count on the broader market moving anytime yet. I think this chart says it all:

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Its “twin” Rio Tinto (RIO), went ex-dividend yesterday, and finished down exactly 2%, still in a trading range after trying to break free of its bearish downward bias, with resistance at $70 per share and support at $59 a share.

As I warned this morning, gold miner Newcrest Mining (NCM) would suffer from a bit hit on gold overnight, and it did – losing nearly 3% for the day. To finish out the ASX8, Woodside Petroleum (WPL) was down 2% as well.

The futures are looking a bit mixed with US and Euro markets looking like opening shakily, but not down by much, with the local market only off by a few points in anticipation. The data tonight is overwhelming – first will come, French unemployment, then German, EMI and UK PMI manufacturing, data alongside a probably deflationary Italian CPI print. Then in the US we get motor vehicle sales/jobless claims.

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Let’s see what happens in Market Morning tomorrow.

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