daytrade diaries... january 28 part 2, page-6

The Australian share market had made marginal gains by noon on Thursday ahead of US President Barak Obama's State of the Union address and US December growth figures due on Friday.

All Ordinaries index rose 3 point, or 0.09 per cent to 4,673.

Analyst said "Tomorrow is the GDP numbers for the US market, so it's probably a little bit tentative given that China is working very hard to keep its economy at a steady pace, and that is affecting a bit of cautionary thinking here. It's been a very rough start to the week, and last night commodity prices were heavily hit, but our market is holding up very well with regards to bulk commodities."

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (CBA) says funds under administration rose 1.5% in the December quarter to $193 billion. This however is slower than the 8.3% growth in funds under administration experienced in the September quarter. Funds under management for the three months to December 31, 2009 rose 1% to $149 billion. The bank is to release its half year results on February 10, saying it expects cash net profit after tax of $2.9 billion for the six months to December 31, 2009. Shares in the Commonwealth Bank rose 0.68% to $55.

Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN) budget offshoot Jetstar is to launch SMS boarding pass technology where boarding passes and codes will be sent via a standard text message to customers in an effort to improve customer service. According to the Australian Associated Press the airline has also reached a US$3.5 billion deal with International Aero Engines for the supply of engines for a fleet of 50 Airbus A320s. The announcements were made by Jetstar CEO Bruce Buchanan at an industry conference in Singapore. Shares in Qantas gained 1.76% to $2.89.

The best performing sector at midday is the Real Estate Investment Trust index which is up 13 points at 871.
The worst performing sector at midday is the Consumer Staples index, down 83 to 7,290.

Gold is trading at US$1,089.70 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 89.67 US cents.

RIO: Bounce trade in @$70.25 and sold at $70.90
ADO: In at .045 and out .047
Watching MEL

http://www.marketwatch.com/
http://www.thebull.com.au/
http://www.news.com.au/business/