daytrades april 21 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Shares surged towards the Easter break this morning, with all sectors trading higher as a two-day rally tallied more than 100 points or 2%.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 53 points or 1.1% at 4912, led by gains in property trusts (+1.4%), energy stocks (+1.3%) and gold (+1.2%).

US futures were again pointing to strong start this evening after Apple beat earnings expectations this morning and Asian markets rallied. Japan's Nikkei was recently up 0.58%, Shanghai 0.87% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.12%. Dow futures were recently up 50 points or 0.4%.

Business confidence bounced back last quarter but conditions remained weak, according to the latest NAB Business Survey. Confidence improved six index points to +11 points, while conditions were steady at +2.

"The monthly survey showed a strong relief bounce in February, coinciding with the end of the worst of the flood events," NAB said in a statement quoted on Fairfax.

Inflationary pressures increased last quarter, according to the latest producer price index data released this morning. The PPI rose 1.2% during the March quarter for an annual rate of 2.9%. Economists had tipped a quarterly rate of 1% and an annual rate of 2.7%.

The dollar hovered near record levels this morning, recently buying US $1.0762. Crude oil futures surged another 72 cents this morning to US $112.25 a barrel. Spot gold was $3.70 stronger at US $1,506 an ounce.


Great to see the market end a tough couple of weeks on a high. I'm suffering a touch of trader's burn-out right now and am very much ready for the Easter break. Best wishes to all for the holidays. See you next Wednesday, refreshed and ready to go again.