daytrading march 15 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

Weak resource stocks following overnight falls in commodity prices have dragged the Australian share market lower for the first session in three despite rallies in Asia.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was off 15 points or 0.4% at 4271 but still up around 60 points for the week. Gains in financials and defensive sectors cushioned the market from declines in the gold sector -3.7%, metals & mining -1.9% and energy stocks -0.5%.

"The market has been pulled down by the materials sector due to weaker commodity prices caused by a higher US dollar," CMC Markets trader Miguel Audencial told Fairfax. "The Fed's statements to confirm a recovering US economy and the decreasing need of quantitative easing gave investors reason to take up US dollars."

The picture was brighter in Asia, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index ahead for a third day. Japan's Nikkei rallied 0.51%, Shanghai gained 0.11% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.13%. Dow futures were recently up 10 points or 0.1%.

Crude oil futures were flat this morning at US$105.65 a barrel. Spot gold was $2.20 softer at US$1,640.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying US$1.0446.


No real damage done to the recent rally this morning and there's the possibility of a minor recovery if Asia stays strong. Once upon a time options/index expiry days offered nice opportunities to snag bargains at the open. The market has a habit of ironing out inefficiencies and these trades have been harder to find lately, but I managed quick in-outs in PRY and BXB in the first few minutes of trade. Not big money but hey, money's money. Back into BXB at the latest low. Also trades in NXS, DTE, MSB and PRU. Good to be back in the fray.