April Fool's! And the joke's on who?

I keep on forgetting that this is a regular trading day for most countries. I was thinking that this is a day free from posting until I tuned in to Bloomberg TV.

Asian stocks are mostly up due to the optimism in the economic recovery as well as a positive Tankan survey which measures business optimism in japan. It would be hard to say if we would have traded likewise higher especially after the DOW lost close to half a percent overnight.

Wall street ended the quarter on a low key, but still higher than the start of the year (bumpy, but still higher). The jobs report this week provided for that negative investor sentiment which drove US stocks lower. But again, I believe this pause is healthy to say the least, if not setting the springboard for another leg up.

Even when on the beach or other vacation spots, I believe local investors are keeping an eye on international equity movements, rearing to go once trading resumes next week. Whether resumption would turn positive or negative would depend on the direction of international action by the end of this week.