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The Australian share market kicks off a holiday-shortened week with modest gains, with Discretionary, Information Technology and Materials offsetting Financials.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbed +24.3 points, or +0.36%, to 6,824.7 and remained closely near the 11-month high, while the All Ordinaries closed higher +32.5 points, or +0.46%, at 7,111.4.

With Australian share market absent (closed) in observance of Australia Day, the global market prepares to kick-off to its busiest week for fourth-quarter earnings season, like Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Tesla, and Amazon.

Wall Street had a generally positive week as President Joe Biden now in the White House takes the reins of a national effort to vaccinate most Americans.

He has pledged to have the country administer 100 million doses of the vaccines within the first 100 days of his presidency.

However, a growing number of Republicans have expressed doubts over the need for another stimulus bill, especially one with a price tag of $1.9 trillion proposed by Biden.

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has criticized the size of the latest round of proposed stimulus checks.

Dissent from either party carries weight for Biden, who took office with a slim majority in Congress.

Investors are also concerned that impeachment proceedings in the Senate against former President Donald Trump may delay Biden’s fiscal stimulus bill.

Senate leaders on Friday announced Donald Trump’s impeachment trial would begin on February 9.

The House voted to impeach Trump, for a second time, alleging that the 45th president incited a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

U.S. speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the House still plans to send over the impeachment article, alleging “incitement of insurrection,” on Monday.

That “exhibition” would normally lead to the formal commencement of the trial within a day, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber would then pause until the week of February 8 to give prosecution and defence time to prepare, while also allowing Biden to get his people confirmed and make headway on the COVID relief bill.

Separately, former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s nomination for Treasury Secretary, becoming the first woman to hold that position, scored unanimous consent by the Senate Finance Committee and was expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Gains in iron ore miners, offset the banks as they limped over the finish line.

The materials sector advanced, with Fortescue Metals Group led the titans higher after surging +4.03% to $25.30, Rio Tinto added +2.05% to $121.77 BHP Group rallied +1.06%, to $46.62.

The Financial sector slid in the late afternoon reversing fresh gains with National Australia Bank eking out +0.04%, to $24.13, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group rose +0.16%, to $24.68, Commonwealth Bank added +0.21%, to $85.27, Westpac Banking Corp edged +0.05%, to $21.78, and Macquarie Group slid -0.01% and settled at $137.08.

Healthcare sector put in a firmer performance with Fisher & Paykel adding +1.26%, to $32.91.

Biotechnology giant CSL rose +0.34%, to $275.54, while ResMed ended flat at $27.90, Cochlear gained +0.55%, to $198.98, Ramsay Health gained +1%, to $63.33 and Mesoblast lost -0.82%, to $2.41.

For our oil and gas producers, Woodside shares slid -0.87%, to $26.33, Oil Search fell -1.15%, to $4.30, Origin Energy dropped -1.96%, to $5.01, AGL Energy declined -1.1%, to $11.65.

Gold resources displayed a modest rebound with Newcrest Mining lost -1.57%, to $26.34, Northern Star Resources dropped -1.49%, to $13.23, Saracen Mineral fell -1.97%, to $4.97.

Travel stocks rallied with Webjet dropped -3.83%, to $4.77 and Flight Centre lost -3.33%, to $15.10, Qantas dropped -1.65%, to $4.77 and Regional Express fell -1.92%, to $1.79.

Meanwhile, our local currency, the Australian dollar is currently buying US$0.7728 (as of writing).

Wall Street finished with narrow losses on Tuesday, as investors pored over earnings results, with nearly a third of S&P 500 companies report their results for the last three months of 2020 this week.

High-profile names as General Electric, Starbucks, and Verizon Communications were among Tuesday’s reporters, followed by Apple, Facebook, and Tesla due Wednesday.

At the finishing bell, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped -22.96 points to reach 30,937.04, a decline of -0.07%.

The broad-based Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed -5.74 points lower, or -0.15%, at 3,849.62, while the rich-tech Nasdaq Composite slid -9.93 points, or -0.07%, to close at a record high at 13,626.07.

The ASX futures fell -29 point, or -0.4%, to 6,741, while our local currency, the Australian dollar is currently buying US$0.7750 (as of writing).

Due to the Australian share market absent on Monday, closed in observance of Australia Day, the Australian share market direction is likely to take a backstep on Wednesday, due to the minor retreat on Wall Street.

Looking forward to the economic data, the Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release its December quarter inflation figures this morning.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) forecast holds at 0.7%, with the previous release at 1.6%.

This week’s focus for investors/traders is upon the upcoming Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which began on Tuesday and concludes on Wednesday (U.S. time), which will be followed half an hour later by U.S. Federal Chairman Powell’s press conference.

Viewing the technical standpoint for the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO), the Relative Strength Index (RSI) 3-day ‘lookback’ indicator has declined, although, holds above the 50-midway point.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has broken above the 0.00 axis, and presently supports a positive signal.

The Average Directional Movement Index (ADX) trend indicator is ranging.

Developed by J. Welles Wilder, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is an extremely popular momentum indicator (oscillator) that measures price movements’ speed and change.

RSI oscillates between zero and 100.

According to Wilder, (depending on the period setting), the RSI is considered overbought when above 90 and oversold when below 10.

Signals can also be generated by looking for divergences, failure swings and centerline crossovers.

RSI can also be used to identify the general trend.

Gerald Appel developed the (MACD) technical indicator back in 1979, while in 1986, Thomas Aspray added the histogram.

The MACD is a tool used to identify moving averages that indicate a new trend, whether bullish or bearish.

(MACD) plots the distance between moving averages and helps traders identify trend direction and whether the bullish or bearish momentum in the price is strengthening or weakening.

Due to the (XJO) decline, the support is located at 6,755-70, with a potential base now viewed from 6,640-60.

A bullish response is expected from here if challenged.

The resistance currently holds at 6,845. Reassess from there.

The Australian share market fell into the red after returning online from a short public holiday period in observance Australia Day.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell -44.1 points, or -0.65%, to 6,780.5, while the All Ordinaries closed lower -51.2 points, or -0.72%, at 7,060.2.

The mining sectors displayed the worst session in eight months which dragged the ASX lower due to the price of iron ore falling -2.3%, overnight, while gold and oil also joined in on the declined.

The materials sector fell like a stone, with Fortescue Metals Group leading the titans lower, plummeting -6.4% to $23.68, Rio Tinto fell -3.88% to $117.05, and BHP Group tumbled -3.37%, to $45.05.

For our oil and gas producers, several resource stocks are continuing to release their latest quarterly updates ahead of the February profit reporting season.

Oil Search (OSH) has produced a little less LNG over the December quarter, but thanks to surging energy prices its revenues still jumped by close to +40%, over the December quarter (compared to the September quarter). (OSH) ended down -3.26% to $4.16.

Woodside shares slid -2.89%, to $25.57, Origin Energy dropped -2.59%, to $4.88, AGL Energy declined -0.86%, to $11.55.

Meanwhile, Beach Energy (BPT) fell -5.5%, to $1.76 after reporting an -8% fall in production for the December quarter, compared with the three months to September, as operations were impacted by maintenance at the Otway gas plant during November.

On the flipside, Reliance Worldwide (RWC) rallied +7.5%, to $4.37 after the release of a trading update this morning.

Strong demand for plumbing supplies across all its markets (Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe) highlighted a minimum +30% lift in underlying profits, a +13%, rise in sales over the past half, a reduction in costs and lower debt.

The ASX 200 struggle to find initial support after returning from yesterday’s public holiday with Wall Street’s three major indices ending just under the waterline at the finishing bell, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

In the U.S., more than 3 million Americans have received two doses of either vaccine, as of Monday afternoon according to data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They are primarily adults living or working in long-term care facilities and frontline health-care workers who received priority access to the vaccine across all states.

Both vaccines take at least two weeks from the receipt of the second dose to build up an immune response.

According to late-stage trials, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine offers 95% efficacy while the Moderna vaccine provides 94% efficacy.

Even the Healthcare sector was mixed with Biotechnology giant CSL lost -0.12%, to $275.20, while ResMed surged +2.44%, to $27.90, Cochlear gained +1.29%, to $201.55, Ramsay Health added +0.17%, to $63.44 and Mesoblast lost -0.83%, to $2.39.

The Financial sector was mixed with the Commonwealth Bank added +1.56%, to $86.60, while the National Australia Bank rose +0.37%, to $24.22, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group lost -0.53%, to $24.55, Westpac Banking Corp dipped -0.6%, to $21.66, and Macquarie Group slid -1.05% and settled at $135.64.

Gold resources displayed a mixed session with Newcrest Mining losing -1.03%, to $26.07, Northern Star Resources rose +0.23%, to $13.26, Saracen Mineral added +0.6%, to $5.00.

Travel stocks rose with Webjet adding +0.21%, to $4.78, while Flight Centre lost -1.39%, to $14.89, Qantas dropped -2.94%, to $4.63 and Regional Express rose +1.17%, to $1.73.

Meanwhile, our local currency, the Australian dollar is currently buying US$0.7720 (as of writing).

Wall Street suffered steep losses on Wednesday, leaving the Dow and S&P 500 index negative territory for 2021.

After briefly paring losses, declines accelerated in the wake of the policy statement from the Federal Reserve.

There were no surprises from the U.S. Fed on Wednesday, following the conclusion of its two-day meeting after opting to leave its benchmark interest rate anchored near zero and left unchanged its massive bond-buying program, following its first policy meeting of 2021.

In his post-meeting news conference, U.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said: “The economy is a long way from our monetary policy and inflation goals, and it’s likely to take some time for substantial further progress to be achieved.”

At the finishing bell, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost -633.87 points, or -2.05%, to 30,303.17, posting its worst day since Oct. 28.

Boeing Co fell -3.97% and was among the top drags on the Dow after the planemaker took a hefty $6.5 billion charge on its all-new 777X jetliner due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of a two-year safety crisis over its 737 MAX.

The broad-based Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed -98.85 points lower, or -2.57%, at 3,750.77, slipping from a record high and suffering its biggest drop in three months.

The rich-tech Nasdaq Composite fell -355.47 points, or -2.61%, to close at 13,270.60.

Facebook shares fell -3.51%, with Tesla falling -2.14%, while Apple shares also dipped -0.77% after its results.

Microsoft gained +0.25% after reporting a stellar quarter. Sales grew by +17% on a year-over-year basis in its fiscal second quarter, while its cloud business accelerated.

The ASX futures fell -57 point, or -0.9%, to 6,648, while our local currency, the Australian dollar fell -1.40% and is currently buying US$0.7636 (as of writing).

In other news, investors were also transfixed by trading in videogame retailer GameStop and AMC stocks soar on another day of wild trading in heavily shorted companies, which has now surged more than +1,700% this month.

Shares of videogame retailer GameStop Corp and movie theatre operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc each more than doubled on Wednesday, continuing a torrid run higher over the past week, as amateur day traders in online chat rooms again piled into the stocks, forcing short-sellers such as Citron and Melvin to abandon their losing bets.

AMC soared more than +300% Wednesday.

More than one billion AMC shares traded in the name during the session.

“The Big Short” investor Michael Burry said in a now-deleted tweet Tuesday that trading in GameStop is “unnatural, insane, and dangerous” and there should be “legal and regulatory repercussions.”

The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX or Wall Street’s fear gauge, jumped above 30 on Wednesday, hitting its highest level since November.

Viewing the technical standpoint for the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO), the Relative Strength Index (RSI) 3-day ‘lookback’ indicator has plummeted due to the overnight’s decline as it plunges through the 50-midway point.

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) hovers near the 0.00 axis, and presently, supports a bullish/mixed signal.

The Average Directional Movement Index (ADX) trend indicator is ranging.

Developed by J. Welles Wilder, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is an extremely popular momentum indicator (oscillator) that measures price movements’ speed and change.

RSI oscillates between zero and 100.

According to Wilder, (depending on the period setting), the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30.

Signals can also be generated by looking for divergences, failure swings and centerline crossovers.

RSI can also be used to identify the general trend.

Gerald Appel developed the (MACD) technical indicator back in 1979, while in 1986, Thomas Aspray added the histogram.

The MACD is a tool used to identify moving averages that indicate a new trend, whether bullish or bearish.

(MACD) plots the distance between moving averages and helps traders identify trend direction and whether the bullish or bearish momentum in the price is strengthening or weakening.

Due to the (XJO) heavy fall, the support at 6,640 is now under pressure with the potential base, (broad support) is located at 6,580-90 is located beneath.

A bullish response is expected from here if challenged.

The resistance currently holds at 6,715-30. Reassess from there.