Clearly, markets are reacting to the actions of central banks and finance ministers. As funds were being received yesterday by US banks, the floodgates to markets opened. The Bank index ($BKX +13.6%) zoomed -- mostly late in the session -- taking REITs ($DJR +17.5%) and Retailers ($RLX +13.6%) along for the ride. Goldminers ($XAU +13.0%) followed.

Today in the international markets, the key indexes have lifted, but overall, it appears that traders are awaiting a 100 point cut in the Fed rate to drive a spike through the Bear. The Bull-Bear fight is still on.

Australia (+1.34% to 3805.8), Shanghai (-2.94% to 1719.8), Hong Kong (+0.84% to 12702.1), India (+0.40% to 9044.5), and Japan (+7.74% to 8211.9) had somewhat mixed results. But Japan is by far the most important market in the East, and the Nikkei 225 is up +15% early this week.

In Europe today at 6:10am ET, the French CAC +6.4%; German DAX -2.2%; and UK FTSE 100 +4.3% were solidly higher except for Germany.

This morning the DJIA futures have moved from down -97 at 8992 at 6:40am ET to -38 to 9051 at 9:00am ET.

Yesterday, the DJIA +889.35 +10.88% to 9065.12), S&P 500 (+91.59 +10.79% to 940.51), and NASDAQ Composite (+143.57 +9.53% to 1649.47) reflected massive short covering and new buying in the final two hours of the session.

Yesterday, the Toronto Composite lifted +614.29 +7.20% to 9151.63, while the Venture Board, which contains the listings of mostly negative cash flow companies, ie, those relying on the confidence of independent traders as well as credit from their bankers, fared relatively poorly. The Venture Board gained just +8 +1.0% to 816.94, which is a tell that risk-taking has not yet returned to equity markets.

There was no sector loser yesterday in NY. The worst was Healthcare (XLV) which was up +6.3%. The best were Financials (XLF +15.7%), Energy (XLE +15.3%), and Tech (XLK +13.9%), which most traders would agree are the three most important sectors. Volume was much higher, but still not excessive and traders are waiting for higher volumes before they become believers in the Bull.

Biotech ($BTX +4.4%) was a laggard. The leading industry groups were REITs ($DJR +17.5%), Retailers ($RLX +13.6%), Banks ($BKX +13.6%) and Goldminers ($XAU +13.0%).

For the Cara 100, there were only two stocks that dropped: WHR (-8.3%) and DB (-1.2%), but interestingly, the highest volume changes of the 100 stocks were in these two. Rallies don’t start that way, so be careful at this point. Volume must increase in the big winners, and heaviest weighted stocks in the indexes.

The Cara 100 winners were: GGB +29.0%, MBT +27.6%, GOL +23.9%, BBD +22.1%, and MICC +21.6%. Volatility is issues like MICC and GOL has been extreme.

There were 9 stocks of the Cara 100 companies that were up over +20% on the session. Twenty-five percent were up over +14.3% on the day. That is unprecedented.

The $USD, $CDW and $XBP have been net flat since Friday, although the Loonie and Pound have also been volatile. The real action has been in the $XJY (Yen -4.8% yesterday to 102.28!) plunged and Euro (+1.7% to US$127.35) rallied. The Yen issue is tied to a possible 25bp rate cut by BoJ.

The US long bond ($USB -0.83% to 116.36) was hammered as traders’ funds moved into equities. But the T-Bill rate still down around +0.75% shows lingering doubts about inter-bank lending.

The precious metals market has just had a significant bump, with spot gold jumping +13 to 763, so I'll leave that otherwise unreported for now.

On the corporate earnings front, Proctor & Gamble (PG) had impressive quarterly results.

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Comments & Outlook

Today will be interesting in that traders will be watching to see the post-FOMC announcement of monetary policy. A 100bp rate cut is expected. Traders might sell off on the news. The $USD might sell off too, a bit, but $GOLD may not rally as the increase may have been priced into the market in the past few minutes.

Bloomberg has just set up the market with a statement that “the Fed may cut the rate by a half point”. Isn’t that nice! Isn’t that a set-up for traders who have been split into camps that believe the cut will be either 75bp or 100bp?

Overall, I am not convinced with the present rally. I think the real big money is staying on the sidelines until the managers see the results of the US election next Tuesday. A 60 seat win in the Senate would help along with wins in the House and Presidency. Then the regulatory-crazy Democrats (assuming they win) will be able to bring in legislation that radically changes the regulatory landscape that has led to the problems in markets today.

As you know I am all for that. But the public must still be concerned that the Dems don’t over-do it. Ultimately, even with radical surgery, the market still needs less regulation. What the market needs is something akin to significant breast reduction.

On the weather front here is Nassau, we are experiencing the first of the winter's northers. It's windy and cooler -- mid-70's, down from the high 80's. I have had to wear my jeans. But the skies are partly cloudy, and the air fresh and drier, which is nice.

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Links & Charts

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International Economics Review

US Economic Calendar.

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Knobias Cara100 Tables

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Cara 100 Daily RSI-7 Charts

At least one RSI value >70:

At least one RSI value <30:

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International Equity Markets Review

Europe

Here is the latest session data for the bourses of Europe.

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Here is the latest session data for the London stock exchange FTSE.

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Here is the latest session data for the German DAX.

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Here is the latest session data for the French CAC 40.

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Here is the latest session data for the Milan Italy stock exchange MIBTEL.

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Here is the latest session data for the Swiss market index.

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Asia-Pacific

Here is the latest session data for the Asia-Pacific stock exchanges.

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Here is the latest chart for the Japanese Nikkei 225 index.

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Here is the latest chart for the Singapore index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Shanghai Composite index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Hong Kong Hang Seng index .

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Here is the latest chart for the India BSE 30 index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Australian All Ordinaries index .

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US Equity Markets Review

DJIA (interactive) chart

NASDAQ Composite (interactive) chart

Table 15: Dow 30 List

You can do this table yourself by entering the following string into the Summaries window at www.billcara2.com and then clicking on the link for Performance.

AA AIG AXP BA C CAT DD DIS GE GM HD HON HPQ IBM INTC JNJ JPM KO MCD MMM MO MRK MSFT PFE PG T UTX VZ WMT XOM

Here are the links to interactive Dow charts from Billcara2.com that I broke into groups of ten, which you can add technical indicators for as well. (list one) (list two) (list three)

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The Americas

Here is the latest session data for the exchanges of the Americas.

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Here is the latest chart for the Brazilian Bovespa stock exchange in Sao Paulo.

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Here is the latest session data for the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index.

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Sector ETF Summary for the US equity market

The tables I show in this section are for ten (GICS) Sector Index Funds (ETF's) only, but they cover the full spectrum of the US equity market.

Table 1: Cara ETF List

You can do this table yourself by entering the following string into the Summary window at Billcara2.com and then clicking on the link for Performance. XLE XLB XLI XLY XLP IYH XLF SMH IYZ XLU XLK SPY . You can also add more ETF’s – up to 30 in total.

For a list of components to any ETF, go to the AMEX.com web site, and click on ETF's.

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10 (energy: XLE)

Table 2: Senior oil & gas equities

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15 (basic materials: XLB)

Table 3: Senior metals and steel equities

Table 13: Senior gold equities

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20 (industrial: XLI)

Table 4: Senior capital goods makers and transportation

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25 (consumer discretionary: XLY)

Table 5: Senior consumer discretionary equities

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30 (consumer staples: XLP)

Table 6: Senior consumer staples equities

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35 (healthcare: IYH)

Table 7: Senior healthcare equities

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40 (financial: XLF)

Table 8: Senior financial company equities

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45 (technology, semiconductor: SMH)

Table 9: Senior technology equities

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50 (telecom: IYZ)

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55 (utilities: XLU)

Table 12: US Utilities

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International Equity Market USD-denominated ETF Review

Table 14: International equities perspective

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Japanese equity market ETF: EWJ

Here is the Japanese (EWJ) equity market ETF Daily data charts:

Interactive EWJ Daily data:

Interactive EWJ Weekly data:

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U.K. equity market ETF

Here is the United Kingdom (EWU) equity market ETF Daily data charts:

Interactive EWU Daily data:

EWU Daily data:

Interactive EWU Weekly data:

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Canada's equity market

Here is the Canadian (EWC) equity market ETF Daily data charts:

Interactive EWC Daily data:

Interactive EWC Weekly data:

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Bonds & Yields Review

Table 10: Yahoo Finance U.S. Treasury Debt, Municipal and Corporate Bond Yields

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Here is the $USB 30-year Treasury Bond chart.

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US Bond Funds -- Interactive Daily Data Charts

SHY Daily data series chart:

IEF Daily data series chart:

TLT Daily data series chart:

AGG Daily data series chart:

LQD Daily data series chart:

TIP Daily data series chart:

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Table 11: Interest-sensitive securities

Consumer Finance -USA -- Interactive Daily Data Charts

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Commodities Review

$CRB Index

Open Futures Contracts

Interactive Chart of Daily CRB Commodities Index:

Interactive Chart of Weekly CRB Commodities Index:

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Oil Review

Here is the e-miNY Mar-08 Crude Oil chart.

Interactive Chart of Daily Crude Oil:

Interactive Chart of Weekly Crude Oil:

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Gold & Precious Metals Review

Spot gold chart for the week

Interactive Chart of Daily Gold EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive Chart of Weekly Gold EOD Continuous Contract Index:

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Spot silver chart for the week

Interactive daily data

Interactive Chart of Daily Silver EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive chart of the Silver Bullion index.

Interactive Chart of Weekly Silver EOD Continuous Contract Index:

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Spot platinum chart for the past three days

Interactive Chart of Daily Platinum EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive Chart of Weekly Platinum EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive chart of the Platinum metal index.

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Spot palladium chart for the week

Interactive Chart of Daily Palladium EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive Chart of Weekly Palladium EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive chart of the Palladium metal index.

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Interactive Chart of Weekly Copper EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive Chart of Daily Copper EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Interactive chart of the Copper metal index.

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Table 13: Senior gold equities

To watch the moves in precious metal miners, you will have to monitor the individual stock charts, preferably in real-time, as follows:

NEM ABX AU GFI GG HMY AUY KGC BVN
Interactive Daily data
Interactive Weekly data

MDG LIHRY AEM BGO IAG EGO RGLD GOLD CDE GRS
Interactive Daily data
Interactive Weekly data

CBJ SSRI SIL NG KRY UXG GRZ TSE_HRG TSE_GUY TSE_AGI
Interactive Daily data
Interactive Weekly data

NXG GSS MNG DROOY MFN RNO RANGY MRB CLG
Interactive Daily data
Interactive Weekly data

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Here are the key Silver miners and the SLV ETF:

SLV SIL CDE HL PAAS SSRI SLW MGN

Interactive Daily data
Interactive Weekly data

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Here are the Weekly and Daily Data charts of the indexes:

Interactive Chart of Daily U.S. Goldminers Index:

Weekly U.S. Goldminers Index:

Interactive Chart of Weekly U.S. Goldminers Index:

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The U.S. goldminer share trust ETF trades under the ticker symbol GDX.

Here are the U.S. Goldminer ETF (GDX) index Weekly and Daily data charts:

GDX Daily data:

GDX Weekly data:

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The Toronto Exchange-listed goldminer iUnits S&P/TSX Capped Gold Index ETF trades under the ticker symbol TSE:XGD. Yes, just like GDX on the AMEX, you can trade XGD on Toronto.

Here are the Weekly and Daily data charts for the TSX Goldshares (XGD) index:

Interactive Chart of XGD Daily data:

Interactive Chart of XGD Weekly data:

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Forex Review

Here is the chart of the week's trading in the $USD.

Interactive Chart of Daily U.S. Dollar Index:

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Interactive Chart of Daily Euro Dollar Index, priced in USD:

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Daily British Pound Index:

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Daily Japanese Yen Index:

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Daily Canadian Dollar Index:

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Wrap-up