Daytrading January 28 afternoon

Thanks Brit and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Australian shares overcame early losses to edge towards a fourth gain in five sessions as US equity futures turned positive and Asian markets traded mixed.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 19 points or 0.4% ahead at 4965 after earlier dipping as low as 4909 following overnight falls on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve highlighted growing threats to the global economy as a reason to leave its key rate unchanged. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.38% overnight and the S&P 500 1.08%. Dow futures were lately up 41 points or 0.26%, reversing initial losses.  

“The market latched on the Fed’s negative growth comments,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg. “The Fed is acknowledging reality - that the outlook has become more uncertain - and is signaling that there may be fewer rate hikes. It seems central bankers around the world are starting to respond, which ultimately should be positive for share markets.”

Resource stocks led this morning's ASX recovery. The gold sector rose 2.2%, metals & mining 2%, energy 1.7% and materials 1.6%. The financial sector was up 0.2%.

China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.32%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.61% and Japan's Nikkei off 0.32%.

Crude oil futures retreated 33 cents this morning to US$32 a barrel. Spot gold was $3.90 firmer at US$1,120.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.4 US cents.


Further evidence this morning that this latest ASX retrace has likely bottomed. The index is firmly on track for a win after a big swing off the low. Interesting, considering the fragile state of US sentiment. Trading: all that swing in the pitch and I don't seem to have caught much of it. Just ahead on PRU from below 3oc. Barely ahead in WEB, which usually moves off the seam a bit.