daytrade diaries... october 13 part 2

Half-time round-up:

Australian stock indexes are on target for new 2009 closing highs this afternoon despite a drop in business confidence.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 41 points or 0.88% higher at 4781, above last Thursday's 2009 closing high of 4768. The cyclical gold, financial and mining sectors fronted the gains: gold +2.1%, financials +1.3% and metals & mining +1.1%.

The National Australia Bank's monthly business survey showed business confidence dropped 4 points to 14 index points last month as the government's cash stimulus waned and the surging Aussie dollar crunched manufacturers. But the survey was the fourth consecutive positive monthly reading. NAB chief economist Alan Oster said the 4-point fall was "moderate".

Asian markets were once again mixed. The Nikkei rose 0.38% upon return from holiday. Singapore was down 0.11% and South Korea lost 1.2%. Dow futures were at -13. The spot gold price retreated $2 to $1,052.80. Crude oil slid around 20 cents to $72.92.

Been a sluggish week here - the market has been so easy to trade for six months that I've gotten lazy. Need to sharpen up. Just one trade this morning - reasonable scalp on ATN.