Day Trading Pre Open - 19 November 2018

Good Morning Fellow Traders,

Thanks @Quantum Torus @Ravgnome @Oscar09 @highlandlad @paddington bear @valvesound @RockstarJones @Endless @taughtbuffet and all the Daytraders - too many to mention who keep the ball rolling. A special thanks to @babysteps who so capably filled in for me whilst I was enjoying a beach holiday. May need to call on you again some time in January.

By the sounds of it, I need to open up a health retreat and whip you folk into shape. Take care of your body. It's the only one you've got.

The Australian share market has closed marginally lower, with heavyweight healthcare and financial stocks unable to hold on to gains, and ended the week solidly in the red.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 5.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 5,730.6 on Friday, while the All Ordinaries was 2.4 points at 5,822.8.

Local shares started higher after overnight gains on Wall Street then lost steam around mid-day due to weakness in Asian markets.

"There is no real news driving the performance today, but we had some heavy losses on Tuesday and Wednesday, so there is an element of bargain hunting in heavyweight stocks," CommSec market analyst James Tao said.

The local market is down around 3.2 per cent for the week.

Most of the heavy lifting on Friday was done by materials, healthcare and financial stocks.

The big miners continued their strong run, with BHP up 1.0 per cent to $32.36, Rio Tinto climbing 1.9 per cent to $79.31, and Fortescue jumping 3.8 per cent to $4.12.

Sonic Healthcare, up 1.4 per cent to $21.88, and Ansell, up 0.8 per cent to $23.25, were among the best performing healthcare stocks.

Commonwealth Bank was the only one of the big four to end in positive territory.
NAB was the worst performer, with shares down 0.5 per cent lower at $23.77 after a Sydney Morning Herald report that chief executive Andrew Thorburn's actions following an alleged fraud against the bank were being investigated by police.

The newspaper said there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Thorburn and NAB said the matter had been investigated internally and settled to its satisfaction.

Myer shares, which last traded at 45 cents on Thursday, remained in a trading halt to give the troubled retailer time to fully respond to reports of weak trading in the last quarter.

Other consumer-focused stocks also traded weaker, led by supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles-owner Wesfarmers down 0.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was buying 72.68 US cents at 1630 AEDT, holding on to gains from Thursday when it had bounced to 72.74 US cents on unexpectedly strong employment data.

ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed 5.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, lower at 5,730.6
* The All Ordinaries closed 2.4 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 5,822.8
* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was down 26 points at 5,687 points

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 72.68 US cents, from 72.74 US cents on Thursday
* 82.39 Japanese yen, from 82.55
* 64.09 euro cents, from 64.18
* 56.81 British pence, from 55.91
* 106.40 NZ cents, from 106.97

GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1,215.01 per fine ounce, from $US1,211.50 on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials rose on Friday after President Donald Trump said the United States may not have to impose further tariffs on Chinese goods, but falling shares of Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) dragged down the Nasdaq.

All three indexes had been lower in early trade as an underwhelming outlook from Nvidia weighed on the tech sector.

U.S. stocks moved higher after Trump said China seemed willing to make a deal on trade.

“The market is paying attention very closely to anything surrounding trade,” said Veronica Willis, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis. “(A trade deal) would boost expectations for global growth, which would ultimately be good for stocks.”

But lagging Nvidia shares kept the Nasdaq in negative territory.
Nvidia’s shares tumbled 18.8 percent after the chipmaker pointed to the decline in cryptocurrency mining as the cause of its declining sales. The chipmaker’s shares also weighed on the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX, which declined 1.2 percent.

Facebook shares also dropped 3.0 percent upon renewed concerns that the company could face regulatory scrutiny following a New York Times report on Wednesday about the company’s attempts to deflect criticism of its handling of Russian propaganda.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 123.95 points, or 0.49 percent, to 25,413.22, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 6.07 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,736.27 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 11.16 points, or 0.15 percent, to 7,247.87.

Comments from Richard Clarida, newly appointed Federal Reserve vice chair, that U.S. interest rates were nearing the central bank’s estimates of a neutral rate also lent support to stocks, investors said.

For the week, however, all three indexes posted losses. The S&P 500 fell 1.61 percent, the Dow lost 2.22 percent, and the Nasdaq shed 2.15 percent.

S&P 500 energy .SPNY stocks rose 1.1 percent as oil prices recovered from sharp losses this week on expectations that OPEC and its allies would agree to cut output next month.

S&P 500 utility stocks also jumped, advancing 1.3 percent, as PG&E Corp (PCG.N) shares surged 37.5 percent. Statements from the California Public Utilities Commission raised hopes that the embattled company could be spared from bankruptcy if it were found liable for the state’s deadliest-ever wildfire.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.20-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 109 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.18 billion shares, compared to the 8.61 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

The Australian share market is expected to start the trading week higher, after an encouraging end to the latest session on Wall Street.

But the market is likely to be volatile in the week ahead as uncertainty remains around a number of global issues, including the United Kingdom's Brexit deal.

The futures market suggests the benchmark S&P/ASX200 will rise by about 0.3 per cent, or 17 points, when Australian trade resumes on Monday.

That comes after US stocks finished mostly higher on Friday, after an erratic day of trading ended with an 11th-hour buying spree.

The S&P 500 index rose 6.07 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,736.27, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.95 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 25,413.22.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the positive end to the week on Wall Street and rises in commodity prices bode well for the local market on Monday.

"There's a lot holding in our favour," he told AAP

Where things go from there remains less less clear, as several uncertainties remain, Mr James said.
They include the UK's Brexit deal, as Prime Minister Theresa May defends her draft plan against fierce critics.

Investors are also watching trade tensions between the US and China, Italy's spar with the European Union over its 2019 budget, and whether the US central bank is preparing to pause its rate-hiking cycle.

"I don't think we've seen an end to the volatility. We've seen pretty amazing volatility in the United States within the sessions," Mr James said.
"When you do have a few uncertainties around the place, you have a diversity of views, and I think that's what we're seeing at the moment."

Closer to home, investors will be keen to hear what Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has to say when he addresses the Committee for Economic Development of Australia's annual dinner on Tuesday.
The central bank will release the minutes from its November board meeting on the same day.



Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup

Head into the week with Herbed Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus and Smoked Salmon. Coffee as usual.



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Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.