daytrades feb 9 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

A record profit from CBA and a rebound in consumer confidence helped Australian shares to a new nine-month high this morning.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 23 points or 0.5% at 4913 but well off the intraday high of 4931 set in the first half hour of trade.

The financial sector steered the market higher after CBA delivered a record $3.34 billion first-half profit, firing shares in the bank to their highest level since last May. The financial sector rallied 1.3%, offsetting falls among industrials and consumer stocks.

"This is only going to firm up the sentiment in the [financial] sector and put the spotlight on ANZ and Westpac when they report their results," IG Markets markets analyst Cameron Peacock told Fairfax.

Consumer confidence staged a modest rebound this month despite Cyclone Yasi adding to Queensland's misery. The WBC-MI index of consumer sentiment improved 1.9% per cent to 106.6, partly reversing January's 5.7% tumble.

Asian markets were mixed this morning. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.18%, Shanghai resumed trade after a week-long holiday off 0.32% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.22%. Dow futures were recently at -11.

Crude oil futures rallied 45 cents this morning to $87.50 a barrel. Spot gold was 50 cents weaker at $1,362.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying U.S. $1.0141.


Good to see Shanghai re-open with minimal damage after yesterday's interest rate rise. That was the cue for our market to turn higher after that mid-morning sell-off. Some days the trades come easy, some days hard. Found plenty of bounce entries this morning but none have so far turned into much more than beer money. Traded UNX, KOR and EHR. Currently holding YRR and CWN.