Major US indices posted average figures overnight, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down 2.1 and 2.2% respectively, the Dow Jones faring a little better closing 1.6% down for the session after giving up early gains. After an opening gap down and further morning losses, our market held up reasonably well thanks to an erratic rally through the middle of the day and some late strength into the close. Volume was light for the XJO which closed down 0.8% for the day. The Gold, Metals/Mining and Materials sectors suffered again after further losses on related commodities overnight. Energy bucked the trend, however, up 0.3%. Both the US and Australian markets remain at quite high levels of volatility with daily ranges in excess of 2% common place. The only trend in place is their inability to trend – three or four days in a row in one direction at best. Today the ASX ended a two day ‘streak’ and the net result is that the market has gone no-where since early August. US futures are up approximately three quarters of a percent at the time of writing so lets hope we can end the month on a positive note tomorrow.

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