daytrading jan 7 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

The share market has advanced for just the second time this year after gains in the broader market offset weakness in resource stocks.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 15 points or 0.3% ahead at 5340 and within reach of its first positive close since January 2. Falls in gold stocks -1.5%, metals & mining -1.3% and materials -0.8% were outweighed by rises in property trusts +1.1%, financials +0.6% and financials +0.5%.

"Our sense is we see the market back at the 5700 level by the end of the year," John Milroy, private client adviser at Macquarie Private Wealth, told Fairfax. "We think there's a real chance of the ASX200 listed companies having a much better revenue outcome than the market expects."

A drop in imports and steadiness in exports helped the trade gap narrow in November, according to a report released this morning. The trade deficit fell to a lower-than-expected seasonally-adjusted $118 million from a revised $358 million gap in October. Read more here.

Asian markets continued to retreat. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.43%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.04% and Japan's Nikkei 0.39%. Dow futures were recently up 13 points or 0.1%.

Crude oil futures eased seven cents this morning to US$93.61 a barrel. Spot gold bounced $3.70 to US$1,240.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 89.38 US cents.


Someone took a bit stick to resource stocks this morning, particularly the iron ore miners. Pressure lifting a little now. I grabbed some FMG and AGO, in addition to ARI. Slowly coming good. Looking for a bit more from AGO. Also scalped PBT. A profitable session so long as AGO plays nice.