Daytrading July 27 afternoon

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares gave up early gains this morning after weak inflation data muddied the rates outlook for next month's Reserve Bank meeting.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was three points or 0.1% lower at 5535 after hitting an 11-month high of 5565 in early trade. The benchmark index gave up its rise after quarterly inflation figures released at 11.30am EST appeared to dull the likelihood that the RBA will lower the cash rate next month. The odds on a cut fell towards 50% from 60%, according to the futures market, after the quarterly inflation figure came in at 0.4%, in line with expectations, and annual growth fell to 1%, slightly below the anticipated 1.1%.

The retreat was led by the rate-sensitive utilities sector, down 1.5%, telecoms -0.6% and financials -0.4%. Cushioning the fall were gains in metals & mining +3.1%, materials +2.3%, gold +1.9% and IT +0.5%.

The mood in Asia was brighter ahead of policy statements from the US Federal Reserve tonight and the Bank of Japan on Friday.

“The key is whether the BOJ will surprise us again on Friday,” Alex Wong, director of asset management at Ample Capital in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg. "The Japanese central bank has surprised the market several times in the past few years so they are a little bit unpredictable. There may be a disappointment”
  
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.33% and Japan's Nikkei 1.37%. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.16%, Dow futures were recently ahead 44 points or 0.24% following a well-received profit update from market heavyweight Apple this morning.

Crude oil futures eased six cents or 0.14% this morning to US$42.86 a barrel. Gold futures were $3.40 or 0.26% softer at US$1,324.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 74.99 US cents.


Worth noting for anyone here thinking of holding overnight that Apple shares jumped in after-market trade this morning, hinting at a positive night ahead in the US. Nasdaq futures are up 0.6%. Only one company but a big un with significant weighting in all three major US indices. Trading: focus wasn't the best this morning, but managed a win in RFX. Holding YOW - thought today might be rebound day, but it hasn't bounced as much as hoped.