daytrading dec 19 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

The share market is on track for its best session in three months as regional markets joined a global rally after the US Federal Reserve announced taper plans overnight.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 72 points or 1.4% higher at 5168 as a broad rally lifted all sectors except gold (-0.4%). A close about that level would be the best single-session advance since the market rallied 84 points on October 10. The metals & mining and materials sectors topped the gains, rising 1.8%, followed by energy +1.7%, industrials +1.3% and financials +1.3%.

US stocks jumped to record closing levels overnight after the Fed announced that it will cut its bond-buying program next month to US$75 billion a month from US$85 billion.

"It's a win-win for markets," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg. "They are more optimistic on the employment rate and the economy while still keeping loose monetary policy in place with low rates to support the economy. We're happy to stay overweight equities and if anything buy a bit more."

Asian markets rallied despite significant currency movements overnight. China's Shanghai Composite put on 0.24%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.77% and Japan's Nikkei 1.63%. Dow futures were recently down 15 points or 0.1%.

Spot gold bounced 60 cents this morning to US$1,220.10 an ounce. Crude oil futures eased two cents to US$97.65 a barrel. The dollar was buying 88.5 US cents.


Good to see the rally accelerate through to lunchtime. Plenty of upside from here, provided currency issues don't cruel the outlook. Meanwhile, the IPOs keep coming, although a few have landed with a thud these last few weeks. CVO was today's Christmas turkey. I made a nice wage early on in ISN and spent the rest of the morning proofing a friend's sci-fi manuscript.