Yutaka Miura Market Quotations

The market was encouraged by Friday's gains in U.S. stocks. Carrying over late last week's strong market sentiment, players tested higher prices.

The market took a breather as investors believed share prices surged too far, too fast in recent sessions. Most market participants were also taking to the sidelines before the release of US employment data later today.

Some people are saying the market is overheated and it's inevitable that it takes a break here and there.

The market had already factored in good numbers from the GDP data and there are few incentives to trade on now.

Market participants are not making large positions ahead of the holidays.

Basically, I think the desire to wait and see is very strong right now. That being said, U.S. stocks, especially the Nasdaq index, were weaker ... so the market is likely to move lower.

Investors sell futures contracts speculating about a further fall in the cash market in the afternoon, so by the time the cash market opens, investors turn bearish -- it's a vicious cycle.