Australian shares touched a 10-week high this morning but pared gains after the big banks rolled over.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 8 points or 0.17% at 4905 as resource-sensitive sectors rallied on overnight gains in commodities. The metals & mining sector climbed 1%, materials 0.8% and energy 0.3% but gold shares dropped 0.4% and financials were off 0.3%.
NAB was in a trading halt this morning ahead of an announcement regarding the bank's plans to buy parts of AXA.
BHP flagged a structural shift in the iron ore market by announcing it has sold most of its ore on short-term contracts. The move, which circumvents the fractious annual contract negotiations with big clients, was a "significant win" for BHP and positive for the share price, according to IG Markets research analyst Ben Potter.
"BHP Billiton appears to have convinced them that this is fairer and more transparent way of pricing that eliminates large discrepancies between spot and contract pricing," Mr Potter said in a research note quoted on Fairfax. "This lays the foundations for the likes of Rio Tinto and Vale to follow down the same path."
Elsewhere, RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle this morning predicted competition on lending rates will increase with the global recovery. Mr Debelle predicted more firms will enter the local loan market, following the demise of several lenders during the financial crisis.
Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.5%, but Shanghai was little changed at -0.07% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was similar at -0.03% in early trade. Dow futures were recently at +2.
Oil and gold gave back some of their overnight gains this morning. Crude oil futures drifted 25 cents lower to $82.17 a barrel. The spot gold price was down $1.40 at $1,109.10 an ounce.
Congratulations to Wilson on his baby news. Thoughtful of her to emerge before the market opened so she didn't interfere with your trading.
A very nice morning here despite a few regrets. Bought ABY for the breakout in copper. Caught solid bounces in STB and GNS. Skinny scalp in APG - saw it late and got in for a second run that didn't happen. Wouldn't mind but the experience stopped me buying DRM at 36... Got into CGF at 4.21 - anyone interested in studying how to use bots to your advantage can learn from this stock. The instos love to run it down and back up again. Bought ANN on pullback for what I hope will be a swing higher over the next few days.
