Daytrading Feb 25 afternoon

Thanks Beany and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

Australian shares pushed towards a third day of gains as Chinese factory activity unexpectedly picked up and a three-month high in BHP offset dividend payouts from TLS and energy giants WPL and STO.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 12 points or 0.2% ahead at 5939 and within reach of a new six-and-a-half-year closing high. Gold was the pick the sectors, rising 1.7%, but the metals & mining sector accounted for most of the index's gains for a second day with a rise of 1.5%. Energy -2.3% and telecoms -1.8% were the biggest drags as key components traded without their dividends. The rally came amid increasing optimism about the domestic market as falling interest rates encourage investors to switch funds out of bank deposits into stocks.

"6000 for the ASX 200 almost looks a certainty, but whether the local market kicks on from there in the medium-term could depend largely on what the central bank does at the upcoming meeting. If they cut again, expect the market to continue to press higher,” Australian Stock Report Head of Research, Chris Conway, told Fairfax. “At this stage we don’t think the market is getting too far ahead of itself."

HSBC's manufacturing purchasing managers' index for China swung back to expansion this month, according to a preliminary reading. The PMI rose to 50.1 from a final January reading of 49.7. Economists expected a reading of 49.6, according to Forex Factory.

The morning's domestic economic reports met or exceeded expectations. Wages increased by 0.6% last quarter, as predicted. Construction work declined 0.2% over the same period, but economists had anticipated a heavier fall of 1.2%. The news helped the dollar rise a quarter of a cent before the Chinese update gave another leg-up to 78.79 US cents.

China's Shanghai Composite made a cautious return to trade after a week-long holiday, lately trading 0.02% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged and Japan's Nikkei up 0.1%. Dow futures were recently off three points or less than 0.1%.

Spot gold jumped $14.10 this morning to US$1,210.40 an ounce. Crude oil futures edged down a cent to US$49.27 a barrel.


Gold is on a tear - up more than $14 from this morning's settlement price. US dollar down. All to do with Yellen and US rate expectations, obviously. Trading: been one of those mornings where I felt well set for a good day by  10.30am, reached total despair by 11.30am and have since swung back to cautious optimism. I guess that's a typical day since trading programs took over the market. MRM appears to be coming good from yesterday but the algo will decide whether or not the rally continues. Also scratching my head about MSB, another share where humans seem notably absent other than as fodder for the machines. Snagged a couple of specs on pullback but won't mention because they're thinly traded.