Daytrading May 26 afternoon

Thanks Brit and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

The ASX 200 poked its head above 5400 for only the second time in nine months before retreating as business investment slumped more than expected and traders pared bets ahead of a long weekend in the US.  
  
At 1pm EST the benchmark index was eight points or 0.1% weaker at 5365 after topping out early in the session at 5403. A 3.4% dive in WES did much of the damage, dragging the consumer staples sector down 2.1%. Also weak were telecoms -1.4%, IT -1% and consumer discretionary -0.8%. Cushioning the decline were a 2.2% rally in energy and rises of 2.1% in gold and 1.7% in metals & mining.  

"It will an interesting day for the ASX as it battles with its psychological bête noire – the 5400 level,"  IG market analyst Angus Nicholson told Fairfax. "The ASX has not managed to close above this level since 11 August, and it would be hugely significant for market sentiment if it managed to do so today. BHP's ADR gained 4.3 per cent overnight, while CBA's also continued to gain, adding another 0.5 per cent."

A brief rebound faltered after data showed business spending declined 5.2% last quarter. Economists had tipped a drop of 3.2%. The dollar fell a fifth of a cent before recovering to 72.14 US cents.

Other headwinds this morning included Monday's Memorial Day market holiday in the US and declines in China's Shanghai Composite of 1.12% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng of 0.44%. Japan's Nikkei put on 0.29%. Dow futures were recently off 17 points or 0.1%.

Crude oil futures rose 27 cents or 0.5% this morning to US$49.83 a barrel. Gold futures were $8.10 or 0.7% firmer at US$1.234.70 an ounce.


The rally stalled pretty much exactly where it might have been expected to. We've had 500 points without a significant retrace, so some sort of pullback looks overdue. Trading: market opened yet? I got nothing. All the heat at the spec end seems to have dissipated over the last week and a half. Dunno what it will take to re-ignite it, but it's probably not more lithium results.