Asian trade: Asian markets are heading up for a third consecutive day, helped by commodity stocks and by the declines seen in the value of the Japanese yen, which lately had been a major drag. The best performing market in Asia is the Shanghai stock index, up almost 4%. The Chinese index opened today for the first trading session after an 8-day holiday. The Hang Seng index advanced only 0.16% in Friday trade, while the Hang Seng China AH (A+H) Index is up 2.03%. The S&P futures traded within a 3-point range developed during the prior day of trading, in the 1062-1065 area. A break above this area will probably trigger a wave of buy orders into the market. On the daily chart, the S&P futures are advancing for four consecutive days, and are currently approaching the high of the current year. S&P Futures Technical View: TheLFB Member Charts Weekly chart trend: Mixed. Main price points: 665.50, and 1252.50. Looking for: 50% Fibonacci level S&P futures are still bullish on the weekly chart, after a powerful bounce off the 665.50 support area that was established at the start of this year. This recent uptrend could be a pull-back in wave 4 of a bearish impulse count, with wave 5 yet to come. In this case, wave 4 must not overlap the territory of wave 1, shown below (1252). The converse technical view is that it may also be a start of a new long-term uptrend, if we consider a possible three wave structure from the 1586 top to the 665.50 lows. Sector Moves: Most sectors headed higher in Asian trade, but the strongest gains came from the basic materials companies. This week, the basic material companies seem to be the star of the market, being among the only sectors that have constantly had a positive contribution to the major indexes. The heave-weight financials are also up tonight, especially in the Japanese Nikkei, where the financials are among the best gainers in the index. Utilities and telecommunications were trading broadly lower in Asia, a trend seen recently in the other trading sessions as well. Economic Moves: Machinery orders in Japan unexpectedly rose during August after hitting a record low. Orders climbed 0.5 percent during July. The sudden jump has been attributed to large government stimulus spending. Despite this increase in orders many companies throughout Japan are still looking for ways to cut costs and are closing plants and cutting wages to maintain the bottom line. Crude oil for November delivery was recently trading at $71.20 per barrel, lower by $0.50. Crude oil tested the $72.50 area during the prior U.S. session, but since then, the market has failed to find the necessary momentum to move higher. A break above this level might come on positive S&P futures and on a weak dollar. Gold for November delivery was recently trading down by $5.70 to $1050.60. Gold traded very volatile over the last few trading session, having a range of almost $20 in Thursday trade. Tonight, the precious metal declined lost a few points, reflecting the weakness of the major pairs in the foreign exchange market. Gold Technical View: TheLFB Member Charts Daily chart trend: Long. Main price points: 1060. Looking for: Wave 3) top On a daily gold chart, the market has broken through the Fibonacci resistance area at 1040, which was the key for a move into the current levels around 1060. In this zone it is the 200% Fibonacci extension level of wave 1) distance, measured from wave 2) lows, which may be the reason for a turning point into the lower wave 4), as the extended wave 3) should soon be completed.

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