Daytrading January 4 afternoon

Thanks Brit and morning crew. Good to be back in the saddle.


Half-time round-up:

Energy shares steered the ASX within reach of a 10th rise in 11 sessions as escalating tensions in the Middle East boosted the price of crude oil.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was down four points or less than 0.1% at 5292 after being up as much as 35 points as a so-called Santa rally continued into the first trading day of the new year. Resource stocks drove the rally amid speculation that a growing feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran may help commodity prices. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was attacked in the aftermath of a Saudi decision to execute a leading Shiite cleric.

“The Saudi situation is, geopolitically, not good news," Kengo Suzuki, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities in Japan, told Bloomberg. But “if oil prices stop falling, that may underpin commodity-related currencies and stocks."

The energy sector surged 2.6% after West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 67 cents or 1.8% this morning to US$37.71 a barrel. The gold sector improved 1% as spot gold rallied $2.10 to US$1,063.10 an ounce. Also strong were metals & mining +0.9%, materials +0.8% and health +0.8%. The financials sector eased 0.7%.

"While there is some profit taking in bank stocks in early trade, other sectors are holding the line as investors appear content to hold positions ahead of key data later in the week," CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner told Fairfax. "The energy sector has had a strong start as markets react to escalating tensions in the Middle East."

US equity futures were buoyant despite weakness in Asia. Dow futures were recently up 34 points or 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite retreated 0.15%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1% and Japan's Nikkei 0.81%.

The dollar was buying 72.22 US cents.


Plenty of action this morning, even if the pedigree of some runners was questionable (UNS, POH, the reborn Circadian - plenty of dead and wounded left behind by that lot over the years. Good opportunity to hitch a ride, but do your research if you plan on holding longer.) I'm always cautious on the first day back at the desk, having learned over the years that over-enthusiasm can be costly. Dipped my toe in RNT a few times for a modest wage, but generally used this as a warm-up session before heavier lifting in the days ahead.