Equity markets have been trading close to flat today as the recent market trading correction appears to be taking a break for the moment. Better than expected results from Alcoa (NYSE: AA, Stock Forum) and a positive U.S. jobless claims report that may have been affected by last week’s holidays appears to have attracted some support. Overall, however, investors appear to be waiting for earnings reports to ramp up next week before committing to a direction for earnings season.

This appears to have left some indices trading unable to break out of current ranges and unable to break down further either, such as the FTSE (UK100 CFD) sitting between 4,100 and 4,200 and the S&P 500 (SPX500 CFD) holding between 880 and 890. The Dow Industrials (US30 CFD) have been holding 8,100 support but ran into resistance near 8,250 earlier in the day. Canadian markets have fared somewhat better today, propelled by a rebound in base metal producers off the Alcoa results, but the S&P/TMX 60 (Toronto60 CFD) remains stuck in the 575-600 range.

A number of commodities appear to be stabilizing such as copper in the $2.15-$2.20/lb range, gold between $900 and $925/oz and silver in the $12.75-$13.00/oz area. U.S. crude oil, however, has remained under pressure, breaking through $60.00/bbl this morning and failing to hold that level on a rebound. This suggests that a common 50-62% retracement of the last major advance or $50.00-$55.00/bbl remains possible. The one commodity that has shown some signs of life today has been natural gas, which rallied off of a better than expected inventory report (75 BCF build vs. street 85 BCF), but this ran out of steam near the $3.50/mmbtu level.

About CMC Markets CMC Markets is Canada's leading online CFD provider and was the first company in the world to offer online FX trading. With offices in Toronto, CMC Markets has been offering CFDs and FX to Canadian traders since 2005. The company now operates over 15 offices worldwide, and represents clients in over 85 countries. CMC Markets was founded in 1989 by Peter Cruddas and in December 2007,Goldman Sachs acquired a 10% stake. For more information on CMC Markets visit www.cmcmarkets.ca Disclaimer This commentary is based upon technical analysis. Technical analysis is the study of price and volume and the interpretation of trading patterns associated with such studies in an attempt to project future price movements. Technical analysis does not consider any of the fundamentals of an underlying company, and as such is inherently uncertain and should not be the only factor considered by an investor in making an investment decision. CMC Markets Canada Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and Member CIPF. CFDs are distributed in Canada by CMC Markets Canada Inc. dealer and agent of CMC Markets UK plc. Trading CFDs and FX involves a high degree of risk and investors should be prepared for the risk of losing their entire investment and losing further amounts. CMC Markets is an execution only dealer and does not provide investment advice or recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of any securities. CFD and FX trading is available in jurisdictions in which CMC is registered or exempt from registration, and may be available to Accredited Investors only in certain jurisdictions. Note that any references to CFD prices or price changes are sourced from CMC Markets' proprietary trading system Marketmaker™.

Copyright 2009, CMC Markets. All rights reserved.