Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:Australian shares lost ground...

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

Australian shares lost ground this morning for the first session in four as surging home prices and falling retail sales and building approvals delivered a mixed picture of the economy.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was down 5 points or 0.1% at 4910 after touching its highest level in ten weeks in early trade. Most sectors traded lower, with energy and traditional defensive sectors accounting for most of the advances.

Rising interest rates took their toll on last month's retail sales, which dipped a seasonally-adjusted 1.4%, wiping out January's 1.2% rise. Economists had tipped a 0.3% rise last month as unemployment eased.

Another ABS report showed building approvals slumped 3.3% last month, following January's 7% slide. The Australian dollar plunged half a cent after the reports as investors reined in expectations for another rate rise next month.

"I cannot see how (the Reserve Bank) can possibly hike next week," ICAP economist Adam Carr told Fairfax. "I'm very bullish on growth, but there comes a point in time when you have to look at the data and think 'Gee I could be wrong about things.'"

Home prices bucked the downtrend, climbing 1.4% in February, according to a report by RP Data-Rismark.

ASX shares hit an eight-week low this morning after the federal government approved a rival electronic exchange. Minister for Financial Services Chris Bowen announced in-principle approval of Chi-X's application for an Australian market licence. Read more here: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/asxs-shares-drop-on-chix-market-entry-20100331-rcp6.html

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.23%, Shanghai slid 0.54% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.04% in early trade. Dow futures were recently at -9.

Gold trimmed overnight losses this morning, the spot price rising $3.20 to $1,106.40 an ounce. Crude oil futures were unchanged at $81.40 a barrel.


A frustrating morning of near-misses here. Spotted the dump in OBJ as it happened but my fingers didn't keep up with my brain and I missed the opportunity. Also missed SSN at 2.5 - three places from the top of the buy queue when the price moved higher. On the plus side, a swing trade in ANN from yesterday is playing out nicely. Also traded the bounce in ASX and grabbed CRZ in the low 5.30s - another share where institutional trading creates intraday opportunities.