daytrades sep 30 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The share market wiped out a week's gains this morning, with losses accelerating after a sharp fall in building approvals.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was off 57 points or 1.2% at 4587, 14 points under where it finished last week. All sectors were in the red, with the losses heavies in IT -1.7%, financials -1.7% and telecoms -1.3%.

Shares in builders were sold off after building approvals fell last month for the fifth time in eight months and house prices eased. Approvals slipped 4.7%, seasonally adjusted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.

"Dwelling approvals surprised most on the downside," economist Matthew Circosta from Moody's Analytics told Fairfax. "But high interest rates over (the) second half of last year and the early part of this year has really crimped demand for construction loans, which is weighing on residential building. We might see further losses in coming months as interest rates increase."

The median house price fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, trimming a 0.4% increase in July, according to RP Data-Rismark figures.

The big banks were all down more than 1% as ratings agency Fitch announced plans to stress-test lenders for a collapse in property prices. Fitch said it was responding to requests from investors regarding the sustainability of Australian house prices and the threat of a correction.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.68%, Shanghai was up 1.1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.5%. Dow futures were recently at -20.

Crude oil futures rallied 5 cents this morning to $77.83 a barrel. The spot gold price eased $2.10 to $1,307.60 an ounce. The Aussie dollar was buying 96.76 U.S. cents.


Mentioned this morning that the market was looking toppy. Looks like some of the big boys are not waiting to see what the U.S. does next. I've been loading up on building-related stocks at their lows on expectation of an intraday bounce once the sellers have cashed out. No movement yet. Hmmm... Holding BLD, JHX, GWT and GUD. Also grabbed PDN and MCR in dumps. Already in and out of BLD, MCR and IAU earlier today. Nice, busy morning. Now where's that bounce?