Daytrading Feb 1 afternoon

Thanks Scarlett and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Australian shares hit the halfway mark on track for their sixth rise in seven sessions as traders found the positives in a morning of mixed Chinese economic data.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was ahead 65 points or 1.3% at 5171 despite news the official Chinese factory activity contracted for a sixth straight month in December and services activity grew less than expected. Boosted by the start of a new month and Friday's Japanese stimulus surprise, the index quickly recouped its losses and advanced to its highest point since the first trading week of the year.

The health sector led the rally, rising 3.1%. Also strong were property trusts +2%, I.T. +1.9% and industrials +1.7%.

There was mixed news on Chinese manufacturing activity. The official gauge dropped to 49.4 from 49.7 in November, less than the 49.6 reading anticipated by economists. A rival private measure came in slightly stronger than expected, edging up to 48.4 from a N0vember read of 48.2. Economists had expected a decline to 48.1. The official measure of services activity eased to 53.5 from 54.4 the previous month. Read more here.

Japan's Nikkei rallied 1.56%, extending Friday's 2.8% surge after the Bank of Japan introduced a negative interest rate to encourage lending. China's Shanghai Composite dipped 0.49% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat. Dow futures were recently down 27 points or 0.16%.

Crude oil futures slid 34 cents or 1% this morning to US$33.28 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.80 stronger at US$1,119.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.7 US cents.


Market seems to be in a forgiving mood so far as China is concerned. Worth keeping an eye on crude - came off fairly sharply this morning and Wall Street seems to be married to it at present. Trading: had a decent trade in SMA from near the low, but struggled since to get on board anything.