Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew. Request: could...

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Request: could someone please start a "Day traders' after-market lounge March 21" thread some time after 4pm this afternoon? I'm taking an early mark to go see "The Lehman Trilogy". (My tax advisor - Bermuda Bob - says I can claim it as a business trip. He's never wrong. Well, he hasn't been charged yet.)


Half-time wrap:

Australian stocks pared early gains after unexpectedly strong jobs data dampened expectations for interest rate cuts later this year.

The ASX 200 slashed an 81-point opening burst to 41 points or 0.54% at mid-session as investors digested news the jobless rate plunged from 4.1% in January to 3.7% last month as the economy added 116,500 jobs. The report was significantly stronger than economists anticipated. The median forecast among economists polled beforehand was for employment growth of around 40,000 and a modest down-step in the jobless rate to 4%.

"RBA rate cuts off," tweeted APAC market analyst David Scutt moments after the data dropped.

"These aren't exactly the sort of employment figures I'd expect from an economy that was due to cut rates any time soon," wrote Matt Simpson, market analyst at City Index.

The dollar jumped back above 66 US cents. The Aussie was lately up 0.26% at 66.15 US cents.

Stocks surged earlier after the prospect of up to three US interest rate cuts by year-end powered gold and US stocks to all-time highs. The S&P 500 climbed 0.89% to a record close. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite also finished at all-time closing highs.

Gold miners spearheaded gains as the yellow metal reacted to overnight news that the US Federal Reserve still foresees three rate cuts this year. Gold futures touched a record US$2,225.30 an ounce this morning before trimming their advance to US$2,204.50, a gain of 2%. Here, Red 5 gained 7.46%, Bellevue Gold 7.34%, West African Resources 7.11% and Newmont 3.44%.


Personal trading: Caught the low in PPL. Missed an easy bounce opp in ONE from support. Exited VEN from yesterday for brokerage.