daytrading feb 22 afternoon

Thanks Endless. Great post this morning, Giz.

Half-time round-up:

Australian stocks have retreated for the first day in four as Asian markets traded mixed in the aftermath of the latest Greek bailout.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was down four points or 0.1% at 4286 as defensive and cyclical sectors rose or fell without any clear pattern. Gold stocks led the sector gains, rising 1.6%, followed by health and energy, both up 1%. The two big miners and most of the banks lost ground.

"Even though Greece got the latest bailout, there are still a lot of hurdles to face," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg. "The main driver for strength in recent times has been monetary easing around the globe or good economic data, and last night was pretty quiet on that front."

Japan's Nikkei rallied 0.12% this morning, Shanghai was little changed at -0.01% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.59%. Dow futures were recently down 15 points or 0.1%.

The domestic economy will improve in the months ahead but growth will remain below average, according to an index released this morning. The WBC-MI Leading Index, which predicts future economic activity, showed the annualised rate of growth improved to 2.3% in December from 1.8% in November, below the long-term trend rate of 3%.

Crude oil futures dropped 34 cents this morning to US$105.80 a barrel. Spot gold was trading at US$1,755.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying US$1.0633.


A tight range-bound session so far - just 14 points separate the XJO high from the low. Suggests uncertainty as to where we go from here. We'll find out when Captain America tells us. Just two trades here this morning, both profitable. Quick scalp in GMR from the low and a few points from the recovery in DOW.