daytrading nov 25 afternoon

Thanks Endless. Tip for your Blue Mountains trek: check the area you are heading for is definitely open. Still parts of the national parks closed because of the fire hazard.

Half-time round-up:

Australian shares have rallied for a second day, buoyed by positive US futures, gains in much of Asia and a falling oil price.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 26 points or 0.5% ahead at 5362 with all sectors advancing except gold (-2%). The morning's best returns came in health +1.3%, property trusts +0.9% and telecoms +0.8%.

The price of oil opened sharply lower following overnight news of a deal to halt Iran's nuclear program. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was lately down 75 cents at US$93.97 a barrel.

"Prices are reacting to the historic deal because it takes some of the risk premium out," Ben le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress, told Fairfax. "But this news is hot off the press, and so there is some knee-jerk reaction. Oil may not fall much from here and we may see some paring back of losses."

The deal helped fuel optimism in the US ahead of a Thanksgiving holiday-shortened trading week. Dow futures were recently up 54 points or more than 0.3%.

Asian markets were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite eased 0.41%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was little changed at +0.03% and Japan's Nikkei was up 1.34%.

Spot gold was $2.40 weaker at US$1,241.30 an ounce. The dollar was buying 91.73 US cents.


This morning's rally is being led mostly by defensives - not the most bullish of signs. Traders worried about profit taking in the US later in the week ahead of the holiday? US futures seem cheerful enough. Energy stocks doing okay considering the bearish weekend developments. The drop-off in volatility lately has left me floundering for trading opportunities. Took GFF a bit early this morning. Situation slowly improving. FAS slowly developing.