US Markets Fall Sharply
January 4th, 2010 by Cale McCulloch
Closing Data
| Current | Change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 10,428.05 | -120.46 | -1.1% |
| NASDAQ | 2,269.15 | -22.13 | -1.0% |
| S P 500 | 1,115.10 | -11.32 | -1.0% |
| FTSE 100 | 5,412.88 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Nikkei 225 | 10,546.44 | -91.62 | -0.9% |
| ASX 200 | 4,870.60 | 37.3 | 0.8% |
| COMEX Gold - Dec 09 | 1,096.50 | 4 | 0.4% |
| COMEX Silver - Sep 09 | 16.82 | 0.018 | 0.1% |
| COMEX Copper - Sep 09 | 334 | -0.5 | -0.1% |
| WTI Spot | 79.36 | 0 | 0.0% |
| AUD-USD | 0.8938 | -0.001 | -0.1% |
| Aluminium | 2,208.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Copper | 7,346.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Lead | 2,395.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Nickel | 18,480.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Tin | 16,725.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Zinc | 2,570.00 | 0 | 0.0% |
US stock markets fell sharply on the close Thursday night, with the Dow ending the session down some 120 points with the bulk of the losses occurring in the last hour of trade. The S&P 500 closed down 11 points at 1115, while the tech heavy NASDAQ finished 22 points lower at 2269. Dragging the markets lower was the strengthening US dollar on the back of data showing the number of people filing jobless claims was falling. This led to speculation that jobs growth is on its way and the Fed will not be able to keep rates at emergency levels for as long as first thought. As it was the last trading session of the year, we saw a fair degree of book squaring, in a low volume market, which contributed to the declines.
Domestic data is thin this week with the PMI ( Purchasing Managers Index ) out today, and only the ABS Building Approvals and Retail trade figures to be released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The RBA will be keeping a close eye on the retail sales data due out on Thursday, looking for continued strength in consumer spending. The figures are from November and as such may be solid on the back of pre-Christmas discounting by retailers. The main data to keep an eye on abroad this week will be the US non-farm pay rolls due out on Friday Night.
The market looks set to open lower this morning on the back of the late session sell off in the US, but losses will be limited by some better than expected data out of China. The Chinese Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 56.6 in December from 55.2 in November, marking the 10th consecutive months of gains for the index. The strong PMI suggests continued strength in Demand for Australian export commodities. Look for some strength in the resource sector through today’s session on the back of this.
Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.
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