daytrades june 1 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

A mixed bag of economic reports and falls on Asian equity and U.S. futures markets helped steer local shares lower this morning.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was off 27 points or 0.6% at 4401 as losses among financials -1.2%, property trusts -1.2% and industrials -0.9% outweighed gains in defensive sectors, including utilities +1.3%, gold +0.4% and health +0.6%.

There was good news for retailers in April but ominous signs for builders. Retail sales rose 0.6%, ahead of the 0.3% increase expected by economists, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this morning.

"It's encouraging given we had the fourth and five rates hikes in March and April," RBC Capital Markets economist Su-Lin Ong told Fairfax websites.

However, building approvals plunged 14.8% in April, from a 15.3% rise in March, suggesting significant weakness in the housing sector.

Manufacturing activity increased in May but slowed from the previous month, according to the AIG-Pricewaterhouse performance of manufacturing index. The index slipped 3.5 points to 56.3 in May. (Readings above 50 indicate expansion.)

"The patchiness of the past several months continues and there are worrying signs of weakness among the consumer-related sub-sectors of the industry," Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said.

A measure of Chinese manufacturing activity eased a fraction last month. The purchasing managers' index fell to 53.9 from 55.7 in April, according to China Information News. It marked the 15th consecutive month of expanding activity.

Asian markets were mostly lower but improving. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.84% and Shanghai 0.16%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng recently swung positive, up 0.05%. Dow futures were recently at -35.

The spot gold price rallied $4.70 this morning to $1,220.90 an ounce. Crude oil futures were recently down 14 cents in choppy trade at $74.30 a barrel. The Australian dollar was lower against all major currencies, including around 1% against the greenback and yen.


I've spent the morning scalping the bounces in DOW, closing four trades profitably. Also caught ASX when it neared $30. PVE didn't attract the volume needed to continue its run but today's higher high bodes well for the next run.