Daytrading October 20 afternoon

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Resource stocks pushed the ASX towards a third straight advance as improved overnight commodity prices and positive US futures offset disappointing domestic jobs news.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was ahead by 12 points or 0.2% at 5447 as attention switched from the September employment report to the final US presidential debate. Dow futures strengthened by 22 points or 0.12% while presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump squared off in Las Vegas.

“The presidential debate is a must-watch for investors in the Asia-Pacific region,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, told Bloomberg. “A clear win for either candidate is important - markets are likely to buy Clinton and sell Trump.”

Back home, the XJO climbed off its session low after a mixed jobs report kept another rate cut on the table. While the jobless rate eased unexpectedly to 5.6% last month from a revised 5.7% in August, the economy shed 9,800 jobs overall as the loss of 53,000 full-time positions dwarfed a gain of 43,200 part-time ones.

Leading the rally were the gold sector +2.3%, energy +1.4% and metals & mining +1.4%. Financials were up a tepid 0.2%. Consumer staples declined 0.3%.

Asian markets traded positive. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.64% and Japan's Nikkei 0.92%.

Crude oil futures eased 16 cents or 0.31% this morning from last night's 15-month high to US$51.44 a barrel. Gold futures were 60 cents or 0.05% firmer at US$1,270.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying 76.93 US cents.


US futures are likely to jerk around for the next hour or two, according to swings in the debate. Trump looks dead and buried unless something dramatic happens. Any social grouping left he hasn't offended? Peculiar campaign strategy. Reverse psychology? Appeal to the masochist vote? Trading: another slow day. Glad I made some cash through the first half of the week. Curse of the part-fill struck again this morning. Right place in 88E but for so few that I need a two-pip rally to pay for brokerage. Yuck.