Daytrading August 8 afternoon

Thanks Endless and regulars.

Half-time round-up:

A downgraded economic growth outlook from the Reserve Bank and reports that the US is preparing to bomb Iraq helped push Australian stocks towards a sixth straight loss and a four-week low this morning.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 61 points or 1.1% in the red at 5447 as all sectors declined except gold +2%. A long list of falls included consumer discretionary -1.7%, metals & mining -1.4%, financials -1.3% and industrials -1%.

An already-soft morning was compounded by disappointing domestic economic news and an escalation of international tensions after US President Barack Obama authorised air strikes against rebel targets in Iraq. The President told reporters the US will attack rebels if they threaten US personnel in Iraq. He said there were no plans to put troops on the ground. Read more here. US futures dived on the news. Dow futures were recently off 93 points or almost 0.6%.

The Reserve Bank this morning cut its growth expectation for this financial year to a range of 2-3% from a range of 2.25-3.25% when it last issued its quarterly monetary policy outlook three months ago. The central bank also lowered its core inflation outlook to 1.75-2.75% 2.25-3.25% in May. Read more here.

"The unemployment rate is likely to remain elevated for some time," the bank said in its quarterly monetary policy statement. "Mining investment is expected to decline much further as large mining projects are completed."

June home loans fell short of expectations, increasing 0.2% from May. Economists had expected a rise of around 0.5%. The dollar fell a fifth of a cent this morning to 92.55 US cents.

Asian markets declined. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.19%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.6% and Japan's Nikkei 3.02%.

Crude oil futures spiked 73 cents this morning to US$98.30 a barrel. Spot gold was $1 stronger at US$1,315 an ounce.


If the index is going to bounce, this is about the place you would look for it. Been a horror week for investors. Meanwhile back into Iraq goes the US. You don't have to be a genius to recognise that the timing is likely as much about Russia as it is about ISIS. The message to Big Bad Vlad is that the US is combat-ready and willing to intervene in conflicts far from home. Oil and gold are obvious winners from that development and have moved quickly. Trading: tricky morning. One of my overnight holds (PBG) paid off at the open, the other (HCH) did not. Got a pip out of YRR and RXM came good after testing my mettle. Added JBH more recently - looked marginally overdone this far below $19. Speculator in TON near support. Had too much going on to give MEO the attention it deserved.