daytrades june 24 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Mining stocks led a modest advance on the Australian share market this morning as investors mulled the changed outlook under new Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 4 points or 0.1% at 4490 and on track for its first advance in three sessions. Prominent was the metals & mining sector, up 1.1% as investors bet the government's proposed resources super tax will be watered down or abandoned. Materials were up 1.1% and telecoms 1.5%. Financials slipped 0.2% after a cautious outlook from Macquarie Bank dragged its shares to an 11-month low.

Market commentators speculated that the new Prime Minister will move quickly on the proposed mining tax after she pledged to cancel a $38 million advertising campaign to promote the scheme.

"We expect new PM Gillard to announce a watered down version of the (Resources Super-Profits Tax) in the coming weeks," RBC Capital Markets senior economist Su-Lin Ong told Fairfax websites. "There is also the outside chance that the RSPT is dumped all together. The Australian dollar, resources, and Australian equities will be the likely beneficiaries."

The Australian dollar traded was little changed against the major currencies at lunchtime, up against the U.S. dollar and yen but down against sterling and the euro.

Asian markets were mostly lower following a soft lead from Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, edging 0.17% higher, but Shanghai was off 0.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.16%. Dow futures were recently at +4.

Crude oil futures recovered some overnight losses this morning, up 40 cents to $76.25 a barrel. The spot gold price was $2.70 weaker at $1,234.70 an ounce.


Way too much pre-market excitement this morning with the Socceroos and the leadership spill. I was knackered before the opening bell and that has been reflected in some lacklustre trading. Rode MAP from its post-dividend sell-down for a few points and joined the herd speculating that ELD is near a short-term bottom after three days of falls. Grabbed some AWE in the latest plunge - bounce scalp only.