daytrades feb 24 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Earnings disappointments and inflationary worries over a soaring oil price have Australian shares lower at lunchtime for a fifth straight day.

At 1pm the ASX 200 was off 20 points or 0.4% at 4825, with all sectors bar gold trading lower. Energy stocks, telecoms and consumer discretionary stocks were hit hardest as the oil price pushed back through US$90 a barrel.

"This is an oil story: how high does it go and what does that do to the global recovery?" IG Markets analyst Chris Weston told Fairfax. "That is what traders are really looking at."

A string of high-profile companies, including IAG, PBG, CAB, AIZ, TOL, VBA, TPI, FXJ and ORG saw their shares sold off this morning following earnings reports. ALL was one of the few to buck the downtrend.

In economic news, private capital expenditure rose last quarter but less than economists expected. Spending improved a seasonally-adjusted 1.3% in real terms, against a median market forecast for a rise of 2.2%.

Asian markets were mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.51%, Shanghai rallied 0.19% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.22%. Dow futures were recently at +22.

Crude oil futures rallied 68 cents this morning to $99.10 a barrel. Spot gold was 50 cents stronger at $1,413.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying US $1.0053.


A cagier morning than the last two. Fewer sellers and fewer opportunities for picking lows. I missed several trades by holding out for that extra half a cent cheaper before buying. Scalped CEO for peanuts and rode LYC from the open again. Just taken a speculator in QAN - scope for a bounce?