daytrading august 22 afternoon

Thanks Endless. Half-time round-up:

Australian shares surged this morning on strong earnings as the apparent collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule in Libya helped fuel a relief rally across regional markets.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 25 points or 0.6% at 4127 after a volatile morning where the index traded as low as 4078 and as high as 4161. A pick-up in risk appetite was underlined by the out-performance of cyclical and small stocks. Energy stocks rallied 2.6%, materials 1.9% and gold 1.9%. The Small Ordinaries rallied 1.3%, compared to a 0.9% rise in the ASX 20.

"Corporate earnings have been convincing today and M&A deals have come in at healthy premiums, underscoring the confidence among corporates," Chris Weston, a dealer at IG Markets, told Fairfax. "Plus the turnaround for US futures was the icing. Having said that, nothing else has changed globally, so expect volatility."

Libyan rebels poured into Tripoli this morning, capturing two of Gaddafi's sons and raising hopes that the six-month conflict is reaching a climax. NATO said Gaddafi's regime is "crumbling" and called for him to stand down.

US futures pared gains as Asian markets fell off their morning highs. Dow futures were recently up 15 points or 0.14% after earlier rallying nearly 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.19%, Shanghai 0.32% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.59%.

Spot gold rallied $12.40 this morning to US$1,867.70 an ounce. Crude oil futures inched 9 cents higher to US$82.80 a barrel. The dollar was buying US$1.0432.


A terrific start to the week and bullish for the near-term trend if this move is sustained in the days ahead. I was bottom-fishing when the reversal began, and saw the benefit in BBG, BSL, FXJ and MYR. Sold 'em all too early but the week is still off to a cracking start. You just never know in this game.