daytrades april 15 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Australian shares advanced to a 19-month high this morning but trimmed gains after Chinese GDP figures flagged the fastest growth in three years.

At 1pm the ASX 200 was ahead 9 points or 0.2% at 5003, the first time the benchmark index has traded above 5000 since September 2008. There were solid gains for property trusts +1.4%, industrials +0.5% and financial stocks +0.4% and losses in traditional defensive sectors including telecoms, health and utilities.

Chinese gross domestic product figures released at mid-day showed growth in our largest trading partner accelerating last quarter to 11.9% from 10.7% in the previous quarter - ahead of predictions of growth of 11.5%. The rate is the highest since 2007, when growth hit 13%.

Chinese industrial output expanded 19.6% compared to a year earlier and the consumer price index rose 2.2% year on year, the government said.

Back home, local consumer expectations of inflation rose in April, according to a Melbourne Institute survey. The median expectation for inflation rose 0.9% to 4.1% last month, suggesting inflation pressure is building.

"This month's report indicates inflation pressure is mounting after a relatively stable period," Melbourne Institute research fellow Michael Chua said in a statement quoted on Fairfax. "For the first time since February 2009, the proportion of consumers expecting inflation to be within the RBA's 2-3 per cent band, is below its 12-months moving average."

Asian markets were mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.7%, Shanghai was little changed -1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3%. Dow futures were recently at -11.

Crude oil futures inched 15 cents higher this morning to $86.09 a barrel. The spot gold price was $1 higher at $1,157.20 an ounce.


A fair morning's work here but no fireworks. Bounce scalps in SXL, SEK and MDL. Position still open in ALL. Best trade is BAU, acquired near yesterday's low.