daytrades september 20 afternoon

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The Australian share market succumbed to a broad sell-off this morning as most regional markets ignored a mildly positive lead from Wall Street.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was down 30 points or 0.65% at 4608, with all sectors bar telecoms and utilities trading lower. The mainstays of the local market, the mining and financials sectors, were both off 0.8%.

"Friday's rally in the Australian share market was a little premature, so there's been a little bit of profit-taking," Macquarie Private Wealth investment adviser Shannon Briggs told MarketWatch. "But Wall Street is holding up so there's not much downside potential and we might just stay a touch quiet for the next day or two."

Consumer spending increased last month for the first time this year, according to a Commonwealth Bank report released this morning. CBA's Business Sales Indicator (BSI), which measures credit and debit card transactions through CBA point-of-sale terminals, increased 0.1% in August.

"The latest data are encouraging and reflect renewed confidence in the overall domestic economy, buoyed by stable interest rates, a firmer labour market and increased wages," CBA general manager for local business banking, Matt Comyn, told Fairfax. "That said, the runs aren't on the board yet, so it would be premature to signal that the spending slowdown is over."

Asian markets were mostly weaker this morning. Shanghai eased 0.55% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.33%. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a public holiday. Dow futures were recently at +12.

Crude oil futures rebounded this morning, adding 24 cents or 0.3% at $73.90 a barrel. The spot gold price also kicked higher, rising $3 to $1,277.70 an ounce. The Aussie dollar was buying 94.1 U.S. cents.


A low-volatility morning, making day-trading opportunities relatively scarce after several weeks of rich pickings. Caught IPL at the low for what would have been a very nice trade with a full order fill. Also grabbed some GNC near the low to see if it could repeat Friday's long-tailed candle - and bingo, yes it did. Potential reversal candle shaping in MTE from Friday.