daytrading nov 9 afternoon

Thanks Endless. Half-time round-up:

The ASX 200 is on track for its strongest close in 14 weeks as Asian markets rebounded from two days of falls amid optimism about developments in Europe and evidence of easing inflation in China.

At lunchtime the benchmark Australian index was ahead 63 points or 1.5% at 4357, which if it holds will be the highest close since early August.

Asian markets rallied following overnight news that Italian Prime Minister is preparing to stand down, clearing the way for a new approach to Italy's onerous debt burden. Japan's Nikkei improved 0.96%, Shanghai 0.62% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2.23%. Dow futures were recently off 8 points or less than 0.1%.

"So-called Berlusconi risks are easing, and expectations are rising that the next government will make progress to rebuild finances," an equities manager at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo told Bloomberg. "Investor sentiment has improved."

China's monthly economic update delivered no major surprises, with annual consumer inflation easing from 6.1% in October to 5.5% last month, its lowest level in five months and broadly in line with expectations. The producer price index declined more than expected from 6.5% to 5%.

The improving Australian interest rate outlook helped fuel a jump in consumer confidence and a sixth straight monthly increase in home loans. The WBC-MI consumer sentiment index jumped 6.3% this month after the first cut in the cash rate in 31 months. The rise took the index to its highest level since May. The number of home loans increased by a seasonally-adjusted 2.2% in September as speculation grew over the likelihood of upcoming rate cuts.

"Steady rates, with a bias to cut has been encouraging buyers back into the market," Moody's Economy.com analyst Katrina Ell told Fairfax.

Crude oil futures rallied another 29 cents this morning to US$97.26 a barrel. Spot gold recouped overnight falls, rising $7.90 this morning to US$1,792.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying US$1.038.


A nice, bullish morning with the market for once holding its initial gains. A few more sessions like this and we might see some confidence and volume come back into the market. (The first two sessions of this week appear to have been the lowest-volume sessions since February.) I stuck to what I'm good at - skimming SMA and GOA off their lows, plus another couple that are too illiquid to mention here and probably should have been left alone.