daytrade diaries... december 15 part 2

Half-time round-up:

A bounce in beaten-up energy shares after overseas take-over news helped Australian share indexes rally for a third day.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 31 points or 0.67% at 4685 after Exxon's bid for XTO Energy brought bargain-hunters into the energy sector as it bounced off yesterday's four-month low. The biggest gainers this morning were energy +1.2%, health +1.1%, gold +1% and metals & mining +1%.

The minutes from the last RBA Board meeting released this morning point to an easing in the pace of interest rate rises next year. The minutes said the decision to raise the cash rate on December 1 had been "finely balanced". The Board noted that three consecutive rate rises could be seen "as materially shifting the stance of monetary policy to a less accommodative setting and, therefore, as increasing the flexibility available to the board at future meetings".

Housing starts for the September quarter trumped expectations, rising 9.4%. The median market forecast was for a 6% rise. However, in the year to September, total dwelling commencements fell 6%, seasonally adjusted.

Asian markets resisted Wall Street's lead this morning. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.33%, Shanghai 0.68% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.24%. Dow futures were at -7.

Crude oil futures rallied off this morning's two-month low, rising 0.37% to $69.77 a barrel. The spot gold price was $2.50 higher at $1,126.60 an ounce.


Solid morning here. The volatility in BMN and BTA has provided a few scalping opportunities. Also took some money off the table in ORD - holding the rest to see how much petrol is left in this breakout.