As we kick-off the 4th and final quarter of 2012 market sentiment seems rather positive this morning

As we kick-off the 4^th and final quarter of 2012 market sentiment seems rather positive this morning despite evidence of continued struggles for global economic growth. The Chinese Government’s official manufacturing index came in at 49.8. While that’s an improvement from the previous months 49.2, it still indicates that the sector is contracting and with export orders dropping it doesn’t appear the sector will improve much in the near future. This development has further supported hopes of a China stimulus play but with the country on holiday for Golden Week central bank action in the country may not occur until after leadership changes occur at the upcoming congress. While last week’s events in Spain were relatively in line with expectations, concerns about the region persist as manufacturing and employment data, released earlier today, showed the regions PMI came in at 46.1 while unemployment reached 11.4%. Here in the U.S., Jobs are the theme of the week as private sector employment (Wednesday) and initial jobless claims (Thursday) will prime investors for the big show – Non-Farm Payrolls – on Friday. The last reading showed only 96,000 jobs were created. Gold experienced some selling on the back of Chinese data overnight but is regaining some lost ground currently trading at $1770. Platinum is off slightly, trading at $1667, and continues to be supported by the on-goings in South Africa. Striking miners at Anglo’s Rustenburg facility are now facing disciplinary actions as the mine tries to get workers back to work. It’s estimated that nearly 75,000 workers are idle across the mining industry in South Africa. Have a great day!