A sell off and steady decline saw the market down in morning trade only to reverse sharply around lunch time. Most of the lost ground was recovered, thanks to an afternoon rally that persisted right into the close. The XJO closed down just slightly for the day, and once again, the Small Ordinaries went against the larger cap trend to close 0.3% higher. It now finds itself testing significant resistance circa 2467 to break a 4-5 month trading range. Other sectors were mixed with the Material and Metals/Mining sectors heavy, BHP in particular, weighing down the Materials sector.

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Thursday 9th February, 2012

It was a pretty lacklustre day ending in mild gains for our market, the XJO closing 0.4% higher, following a flat close on US indices overnight. Our Small Ordinaries fared better, 0.9% higher as the small caps continue to outperform the larger cap stocks. Trading overall is still a choppy affair, with many breakouts still rolling over quickly not getting on with it in a clean fashion. That said, there are certainly some good moves and the ASX Systematic Portfolio is picking up a few such as TAP, DML and MAH. The Growth Portfolio also continues to generate regular signals. The trend remains up – slowly.

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Wednesday 8th February, 2012

Despite a flat close on major European and US markets overnight, our market was gaining ground in morning trade and into the early afternoon. The RBA’s decision to leave interest rates on hold put paid to any gains and the market promptly dropped thirty points or so, before limping into a soft close some half a percent lower for the day. Conversely, the Australian Dollar jumped on the news and at the time of writing is holding onto gains. Sectors were a mixed bag with many Materials and Metals/Mining stocks fading after a promising start. Seems a rate cut may have been factored into the market, though the sell off was far from severe.

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Tuesday 7th February, 2012

Favourable unemployment data released before Friday night’s US open gave their market a boost, all the major indices closing up well over 1%. This positive lead transpired to our open with an initial jump and then held onto gains, range trading near the highs for the remainder of the session to close out a reasonably strong day. With the US futures down around a third of a percent for much of our day as they trade the night session, any further gains past the open were going to be hard to come by for the broader market. The trend remains up, yet in a flat range. Reporting season gains momentum this week.

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Monday 6th February, 2012

Our All Ordinaries Index and the XJO failed to extend yesterday’s gains, closing down slightly and trading in a very tight range as did the major US indices overnight. Their futures have also been flat during the night session so our market drifted without any lead for direction. As the Nasdaq is leading the Dow Jones and S&P 500 forward, so too is our Small Ordinaries index leading the larger cap laden XJO. It closed up today and up for the week, the XJO the opposite, as the smaller back end of the market continues to be the mover and providing the more fruitful trades. US unemployment data out prior to the open tonight which can often move the market around.

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Friday 3rd February, 2012

Overnight European markets were very strong and US markets were up, although not as heavily. As a consequence, our market burst out of the blocks on the open, range trading thereafter. It started to fade at lunch time and looked like it might start to give up gains as it has done recently but managed to hold on for the most part, the XJO up around 1%. Strength came from the Metals/Mining, Materials and Information Technology sectors. After yesterday’s increase in volume on the down day, it will be interesting to see today’s levels later on. The session was a good rebuttal to the pullback of the last three and we slowly edge higher toward the top of a trading range at around 4400.

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Thursday 2nd February, 2012

Our market succumbed to some selling pressure today on increased volume, the XJO down from just after the open to close its lows for the day, posting a 0.9% decline. Most sectors finished in the red, Metals/Mining and Materials the biggest laggards, both down 1.3%. Momentum is now starting to flatten off as we see some stops being hit in the short term portfolios. The persistence of this sideways market will test trader’s resolve and patience, but perhaps Peter’s XAO analysis last night may help provide some clarity and some levels to focus on.

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Wednesday 1st February, 2012

Another subdued session on the ASX, trading within a tight range. Intra-day gains were given up in afternoon trade with only modest declines posted. For the month, the XJO has managed to gain just over 5% in somewhat erratic fashion. Despite that, and despite our systems taking plenty of signals, the market remains range bound and from a discretionary trading perspective, conditions remain tough. Many breakouts are quickly rolling over and lack follow through on the initial break. Strict risk management therefore, remains an integral part of any trading plan.

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Tuesday 31st January, 2012

Our market spent much of the day range trading so was pretty directionless after some early downside which resulted in the XJO closing down 0.4%. Most sectors finished in the red after a quiet day. Reporting season essentially begins this week here, just as the same starts to wind up in the US after a hectic week just passed. Woolworths and Westfarmers are two of the bigger names reporting this week. US jobs data is released toward the end of the week which can spark some movement so it should be an interesting few days.

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Monday 30th January, 2012

After a day off, the market opened strongly and was chugging along very well until about 2.00pm when it all went awry. Most of the gains were given up for the XJO which closed up just 0.4%, again driven by the major financials which also gave up early leads. The Small Ordinaries was stronger, up 1%, boosted by the Materials, Gold and Metals/Mining sectors which were all strong. Our Systems Portfolios continue to generate signals, coming in thick and fast now, the ASX Systematic model account is now full.

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Friday 17th January, 2012