Daytrading July 28 afternoon

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Australian shares shrugged off a downbeat session across Asia to push towards a third gain for the week as resource stocks benefitted from a drop in the greenback following last night's US Federal Reserve meeting.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was ahead 20 points or almost 0.4% at 5559 as the market pushed for a third straight weekly advance. The index has rebounded more than 450 points since late June.

"This is an unprecedented run and of course all good things come to an end, but for now the trend is higher and traders are switching between sectors (always a sign of a healthy bull market)," IG chief market strategist Chris Weston told Fairfax. "For now, all macro and political concerns are swept aside with ease."

Gold stocks led the rally, driving the sector up 4.3% as traders sought havens from a downturn in the US dollar after the US Federal Reserve gave a cautious rates outlook overnight. While noting that threats to the economy had eased, the Fed gave no indication it was in a hurry to increase its key rate. Other greenback-sensitive sectors to benefit included metals & mining +2.5%, materials +1.9% and the mining-heavy Small Ords, up 1.1%. Energy stocks fell 1.1%, telecoms 0.4% and utilities 0.5%.

China's Shanghai Composite retreated 0.15%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.29% and Japan's Nikkei 0.69%. Dow futures gained 27 points or 0.15% after Facebook released a well-received earnings update this morning.

Crude oil futures rebounded 12 cents or 0.29% this morning to US$42.04 a barrel. Gold futures extended overnight gains with a rise of $10.40 or 0.78% to US$1,344.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 75.09 US cents.


This grinding rally probably won't end until all the shorts have been forced to cover. 5700 is the obvious target for the XJO. No cracks yet in the rally. Personally I find it easier to make a coin with more volatility, but this is great for investors and all of us with super in the market. Trading: threw out plenty of buy orders, but only got one hit, in PSM.