daytrading 28 feb afternoon

Thanks gttrain!

Midday roundup

Currently in positive territory at 0.16% (12.59 AEDT), our market spiked briefly on open to 5449, following a record session on Wall Street and a rise in the iron ore price.

The US broad-based S&P 500 reached a new high, gaining 0.49 per cent to 1854.29, passing the previous high mark set in January. CommSec market analyst Juliette Saly said the result had provided relief for investors and carried over to our market after yesterdays close in the red.

Our big miners are looking well supported this morning with BHP Billiton up 0.51% at $38.58, Rio Tinto up 1.29% to $67.46, and Fortescue Metals gaining 0.45% to $5.525

On the final day of corporate earnings season, Woolworths shares 1.9%, to $35.72 after the retail giant lifted its first half profit 14.5% amid solid sales growth. Investors had been expecting a little more from Woolworth's headline numbers. Consequently, there has been a bit of a switch out of Woolworths into Wesfarmers this morning, up 0.35% to $42.72


Virgin Australia shares shed one cent, or 2.86% to 34 cents after the airline said it had slumped to a first half loss of $83.7 million as it fights to take market share from rival Qantas.

Qantas shares, sold down heavily yesterday, amid fallout from Thursday's news it would axe 5,000 jobs, freeze wages, retire old planes, and slash capital spending and some routes to cut costs, have rebounded this morning and are currently sitting at $1.175, up 1.73%

All 4 major banks are currently relatively even.

KEY FACTS

* At 12.59 AEDT on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index up 0.17% at 5,420.8

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 0.17% at 5,429

* The March share price index futures contract was two points lower at 5,394, with 12,160 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 489 million securities worth $3 billion