daytrades jan 19 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The share market hit a nine-month high this morning after shaking off disappointing consumer confidence numbers and a muted reaction in the U.S. to profit reports from Apple and IBM.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 13 points or 0.3% at 4815 as gains for banks, resource and consumer stocks outweighed falls in property trusts, health and telecoms. The index touched 4819 in late morning, its highest level since April 28 last year.

Consumer confidence took a hit this month as floods washed through Queensland. The WBC-MI consumer sentiment index fell 5.7% to 104.6 but remains 4% above the long-term average.

U.S. futures were flat at lunchtime despite Apple and IBM both rising in after-market trade after delivering Q4 earnings. Dow futures were at -2. Apple was up 1.25% in after-market trade and IBM +2.9%.

Asian markets advanced. Japan's Nikkei was ahead 0.15%, Shanghai 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.7%.

Crude oil futures rebounded 26 cents this morning to $91.50 a barrel. Spot gold was $6 stronger at $1,373 an ounce. The dollar was back above parity, buying US$1.002.


Nice to see the market swing around after a sulky start. Certainly plenty of volatility at the small end of town. These are extraordinarily good trading conditions, and as Poly suggests, unfortunately often presage a market downturn. (Markets turn up when gloom is greatest and turn down in euphoria.) I'm on target for my best ever start to a year. This morning delivered wins in UXA, EDE, TEG (measly part fill) and BPO.