daytrading may 29 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

Australian shares ignored a mixed morning in Asia and overnight falls in Europe to advance for a second session.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 16 points or 0.4% at 4084 as gains in financials, miners and industrials offset declines in health and property stocks. Stocks quickly recovered from a 30-point plunge into the red as the ASX suffered a technical glitch that left traders without any index information for the first eight minutes of trade. The exchange said the glitch was caused by a change yesterday in the way S&P delivers index data.

Asian markets opened lower but Shanghai and Hong Kong turned positive as US futures continued to point to a solid start tonight. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.35%, Shanghai put on 0.42% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.05%. Dow futures were recently up 52 points or 0.4%.

New home sales last month recovered from a decade low as first-time buyers raced to buy before a June 30 deadline for a bonus in Victoria. National sales increased a seasonally-adjusted 6.9%.

Crude oil futures were little changed, dropping two cents this morning to US$91.12 a barrel. Spot gold was 60 cents stronger at US$1,573.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 98.36 US cents.


A bullish morning. Let's hope the market can go on with it this week - the XJO hasn't strung together three winning sessions since the start of the month. Some evidence this week of renewed life in the more liquid specs with the likes of AFR, PEK and VOR breaking higher. I made a bit off NTU from the early dump and added some PEK and CMJ at support.