daytrades april 21 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Australian shares kicked higher this morning as Apple's solid after-market result boosted technology companies and commodity prices rebounded.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 35 points or 0.73% at 4961 as a broad rally carried all sectors higher. The biggest gains were in IT +2.3%, utilities +1.8%, gold +1.1% and energy +1.1%.

The economy continued to accelerate in February, according to figures released this morning. The WBC-MI leading index of economic activity, which predicts activity three to nine months into the future, rose 1.3% to an annualised growth rate of 7.2% in February - well above the long-term trend growth rate of 2.8%.

Job vacancies continued to rise, new data showed this morning in another sign of an improving employment market. Skilled vacancies rose 1.3% last month compared to a month earlier. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations skilled vacancies index climbed to 46.4 points, 18.6% higher than in April last year.

In company news, BHP's quarterly earnings result this morning was overshadowed by news of possible corruption charges. The miner said it had found possible violations of anti-graft laws and is cooperating with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as carrying out an internal investigation. Shares in the company were flat after the company also revealed mixed production figures.

Japan's Nikkei spiked 1.54% in morning trade, Shanghai was near flat at +0.04% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.46%. Dow futures recently pulled back to +10.

Crude oil futures rallied 22 cents this morning to $84.25 a barrel. The spot gold price was $2 higher at $1,141.40 an ounce.


A great morning for momentum traders but a quiet one here for reasons unrelated to the market. Added POS on signs of a reversal (not yet confirmed) - looks oversold in the short term but there's an insto bot that sells a small parcel every five minutes. Also holding BAU as a possible "Adam and Eve" reversal takes shape.