By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (MNI) - The August U.S. non-farm payrolls report, due out Friday morning, will set the tone for the post-Labor Day trading environment.

The market would be shocked if the U.S. non-farm report contained any good news about the U.S. unemployment situation, traders said.

Market positioning at the time, rather than the jobs data itself, will drive the trading action in most instruments, unless there is some unexpected result, they said.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, Sept 1 (MNI) - A confluence of forces led to renewed risk appetite Wednesday, with stock and commodity prices soaring as a result.

Overnight, the release of second quarter Australian GDP data and August Chinese purchasing manager indexes (CFLP and HSBC) surprised pleasantly.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, August 31 (MNI) - August started off on a promising note in terms of the market's willingness to put on risk, with risk appetite rising at the start of the month, only to then fizzle on increasingly gloomy U.S. and global data.

The market hopes, rather than believes, that September data will be better.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, Aug 30 (MNI) - A slew of key U.S. data, month-end rebalancing and details of a Japanese government fiscal stimulus plan, are expected to drive financial markets Tuesday, traders said.

On the U.S. data front, the market awaits the Chicago purchasers index and the Conference Board's consumer confidence, all for August.

The median estimate in a Market News International survey of economists projects Chicago PMI to slip to 56.0 from 62.3 in July and for consumer confidence to rise to 51.0 from 50.4.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (MNI) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke successfully ran the gauntlet Friday, as evidenced by the renewed risk taking being seen in the wake of his Jackson Hole speech earlier.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, August 26 (MNI) - It was "Waiting for Godot" Thursday, or rather waiting for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, with financial market players mixed about what to expect Friday when the Federal Reserve Chairman gives his opening speech at the Kansas City Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium.

Reports overnight were filled with the suggestion that Bernanke might flesh out more details about additional quantitative easing measures that might be taken if the U.S. economy sours further.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, August 25 (MNI) - Stocks and commodities eked out small gains Wednesday, with the trading action driven more by exhaustion than a real shift in sentiment.

Global data was mixed on the day, with downbeat releases in the U.S. countering upbeat releases in the eurozone.

U.S. July durable goods rose 0.3% on the month, versus MNI's median of +2.5% and new home sales fell 12.4% to 276,000, compared to 337,000 expected.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK, Aug 24 (MNI) - Dismal U.S. data, this time in the form of weaker-than-expected existing home sales, again took a toll on the dollar Tuesday, offsetting some of the earlier safe-haven demand.

July existing home sales fell 27.2% to 3.83 million, well below estimates of 4.65 million.

The July decline "is a reflection of the sharp fall in housing demand that occurred after the end of the April deadline for the homebuyer tax credit," said Ryan Wang, economist at HSBC.