Morning Call by Traders University

Buyers took a mauling yesterday while those going short ended the session smiling as the FTSE closed down 204 points at 3625. Financials were among the main losers as confirmation of HSBC’s rights issues were confirmed causing the index to fall to it’s lowest level in 6 years. The Dow fell below 7,000 points for the first time since 1997 in the early trading hours, closing at 6763. American International Group Inc (AIG) reported a 62-billion-dollar quarterly loss as the United States’ deepening recession and financial crisis mean’s the blue-chip Dow has now lost more than half its value since reaching a record high of 14,000 points in October 2007. In Forex news, the CAD BOC rate statement is due out at 2pm with an expected cut to 0.50%. Then at 3pm, USD Pending Home Sales are expected to see a significant reduction to – 3.0%. Also watch out for Fed Chairman Bernanke as he testifies before the Senate Budget Committee at 3pm. In overnight news, AUD Retails Sales came in better than expected at 0.2% and the RBA left cash rates steady at 3.25% despite expectations of a drop of 0.25%.