daytrades april 30 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The Australian share market has rallied for the first session in six after the financial sector was cheered by a surge in full-year profit at Macquarie Bank.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 24 points or 0.5% at 4810, driven by gains in property trusts +1.7%, energy +1.2% and financials +0.9%. Consumer staples were the main drag on the market after Woolworths' Q3 earnings report.

Macquarie Group shares rallied more than 4.5% this morning after the group announced a 21% jump in full-year profit to $1.05 billion.

The odds on an interest rate rise next week improved after separate reports this morning showed increases in property prices and new home sales. Property prices rose 4.2% in capital cities last quarter, according to rhe RP Data - Rismark Hedonic Home Value index. New home sales edged up 0.9% in March, following a 5.2% dip in February, according to data from the Housing Industry Association.

Private borrowing continues to grow, according to figures released by the Reserve Bank this morning. Total credit provided to the private sector by financial intermediaries rose 0.5% last month, following a 0.4% rise in February.

Asian markets were mostly stronger this morning. Japan's Nikkei played catch-up after yesterday's public holiday, rising 1.35%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.04% but Shanghai bucked the trend across Asia, sliding 0.14%. Dow futures were recently at -14.

Gold broke higher this morning. The spot price was recently $5.80 stronger at $1,172.80 an ounce. Crude oil futures drifted 4 cents lower to $85.43 a barrel.


A modest morning here. Would have made a motza on the plunge in BKN if CommSec had processed my order at $6.80... Took advantage of dips in CSL and POH this morning. Feeling more relaxed about PVE but resigned to having to exercise some patience with this one.