Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:Shares were little changed at...

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Shares were little changed at lunchtime as falls among the big banks off-set gains in mining stocks.

At 1 pm the ASX 200 was down 4 points or 0.1% at 4690 after trading in a tight 17-point band all morning. The rises were led by energy +0.8%, gold +0.7% and health +0.7%.

Inflationary pressures picked last month, according to the latest TD Securities Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge. The measure rose 0.4% last month, which equates to an annual inflation of rate around 3% - at the top end of the Reserve Bank's target band.

Job ads hit a two-year high in November, a promising sign for this week's employment reports. The November ANZ survey showed a seasonally adjusted rise of 2.9%, the seventh straight monthly increase.

U.S. futures were flat following a TV interview by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke this morning in which he said further quantitative easing was possible in the months ahead if the economy falters.

"It's certainly possible," Bernanke said during an interview on CBS News' '60 Minutes' quoted on MarketWatch. "It depends on the efficacy of the [existing] program. It depends, on inflation. And finally, it depends on how the economy looks."

Dow futures were recently at -8. Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.25%, Shanghai was up 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.8%.

Crude oil futures rallied 11 cents this morning to $89.30 a barrel. Spot gold eased $3.20 to $1,411.30 an ounce. The dollar was buying 98.95 U.S. cents.


A stodgy morning at the big end but good to see some life return to the speccies. I was mostly in the mid-caps, skimming points off the lows with less success than usual. Anorexic profits taken in GNC, SIP and API. Back into SIP and also holding QRN for any afternoon recovery. Not my best work.