daytrading nov 21 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

Stocks drifted sideways despite a positive morning on regional markets as traders waited for news from a European meeting to address Greece's debt situation.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was unchanged at 4385 amid weakness in resource stocks, industrials and the health sector. Financials were 0.2% ahead. Defensive sectors accounted for most of the risers. Trading volumes were capped by tomorrow's Thanksgiving public holiday in the US and the wait for news from Brussels, where euro-zone finance ministers are discussing the next step in Greece's bailout plan.

"Virtually everyone is expecting the Eurogroup to deliver, so the risk of them disappointing could be relatively high," a currency strategist at GFT told Reuters.

Shanghai rallied 0.28%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.76% and Japan's Nikkei 1.06%. Dow futures were recently up 23 points or 0.2%.

Crude oil futures bounced 13 cents this morning to US$87.28 a barrel. Spot gold was 70 cents weaker at US$1,727.10 an ounce. The dollar was buying $US1.0387.


The XJO jumped seven points at 12.43am - possibly European news or perhaps just a market rumour but I can't find anything at the usual sources to explain it yet. It's getting late in Europe, so it would be a surprise if there isn't formal news in the next few hours. Meantime, I stuck to snapshot trading, catching TNG on the gap-fill to 14c and NEN just above the low when the levee broke.