daytrades march 2 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The Australian share market edged higher in choppy trade as mixed economic news added to concerns ahead of this afternoon's RBA interest rate decision.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 12 points or 0.3% at 4699 after briefly dipping into the red when some of the big banks joined traditional defensive sectors in negative territory. Property trusts and gold stocks led the advancers, both rising 1.1%.

There were mixed signals from the local economy, with retail sales up and building approvals down. Retail sales rose 1.2% in January, well ahead of the median market forecast for a 0.5% rise. But building approvals plunged 7% per cent for the month, compared with forecasts of a 1% increase.

Japan's Nikkei was near flat at +0.02% after the national jobless rate fell more than expected. Shanghai was up 0.05% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.64%. Dow futures were at -3.

Crude oil futures slipped 2 cents to $78.73 a barrel. The spot gold price was 20 cents softer at $1,117.40 an ounce.


Just two trades this morning, both profitable. Caught the early run on TTS and then NUF on the bounce. Nothing eye-catching since.