USA stands alone. Wed Mar 9

European bourses were subdued by the potential for ECB rate rises this year despite the ongoing problems with the PIIGS. The US was the boy standing on the burning deck and managed a rise around 1%. Oil eased a little on the prospect of a Libyan deal and gold slipped too. Base metals were flat and large miners sold off in the UK and that has followed through to the Australian sector so that the market has fallen steadily from a breakeven start to be down 20 after 77 minutes.

No new positions for me and a hit in my gold stocks. The security blanket of a long position in Sbm was costly.

Aristocrat has made up its mind and pushed through resistance.  I jumped on board for a quick jobbing trade but it's too late to do much.

Qantas has held well to be up 1 at 234 but the US airline sector (6 stocks come up for me on google finance) rose between 5 and 12% overnight.

I've reinstated my short in Awc on a small bounce to 237, added to shorts in Fmg, Osh and Pdn and bought back a short in Wsa as it has fallen 2 or 3% unlike the others which are steady. Bhp and Rio are weak and falling and I think the smaller miners will join the party soon.

12.05 Out of the woods. Sbm is recovering and Fortescue, after quite an arm wrestle at 640, looks as if it will drop now.

12.11 The Xjo was shaping up to make a higher low - and still could - but after a promising half hour, it has failed to get a foothold. Here's the 30 minute chart.

12.43 Asian markets are firm and the index is having another go at holding the line, having recovered 8 points to be down 22.

Paladin is having a choppy rally. I see the swing low from the first leg of the correction, at 516, as being significant. The stock hit 514 but is back to 505. I jobbed some stock quite well but am down on my overnight short: reasonably confident though.

2.03 The index held over lunch but is slipping again.

I stopped out of Resolute at 125 - can't seem to get that one right. Sbm is ok though, back at 218.

The arm wrestle continues in Fmg. It was precariously placed at 632 and is, once again, trying to reclaim 640.

3.49 Support finally failed and the index has continued the downtrend, down 46.

Bought back a few intraday shorts and mainly hoping for Fmg to dump. It's holding stubbornly.

4.15 I finished the day with a minor gain and my book is skewed to the downside again tomorrow. I'm not particularly bearish in index terms but a few downtrends have started and that's driving the positions.

A late flurry cut the deficit to 40 points (4768) and it's a serious break of 4800, which had roughly held on a closing basis over the last 9 days. The next support level is 4720.

The reason I'm not very bearish is that it has been a range trading market for some time and is around the bottom of the trend channel. However, in the short term, I doubt that we'll be immune if the US capitulates.