daytrading nov 8 afternoon

Thanks Endless. A warm welcome back Cgull. Half-time round-up:

Australian shares edged higher this morning as Asian markets traded mixed ahead of a much-anticipated vote tonight in the Italian parliament.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 23 points or 0.6% at 4297 as defensive sectors mostly outperformed cyclical leaders. The only sectors to rally more than 1% this morning were health +1.4% and gold +1.3%.

Asian markets were mixed as investors awaited developments in Italy, where borrowing costs hit a euro-era high overnight. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.15%, Shanghai added 0.52% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 1.18%. Dow futures were recently down 8 points or less than 0.1%.

"As any bits of positive news following steps toward a resolution in Europe occur, we are starting to see markets move up," Angus Gluskie of White Funds Management in Sydney told Bloomberg. "People are concerned about the Italian situation now. We need to see some kind of resolution and improvement there before investors get really comfortable."

Business confidence continued to pick up from August's two-year low but business conditions deteriorated. NAB's monthly measure of business confidence improved to 2 last month from -1 in September. Business conditions fell from 2 in September to -1 last month.

Falling iron ore and coal prices cut Australia's trade surplus in September. The surplus was $2.564 billion in September, down from a downwardly revised $2.953 billion in August, the ABS said this morning.

"Lower prices for exports drove the trade balance to narrow, even though volumes are holding up well," Moody's Economy analyst Katrina Ell told Fairfax. "The trade balance narrowed on softer commodity prices, which has flowed through to lower export receipts."

Crude oil futures eased 42 cents this morning to US$95.63 a barrel. Spot gold was $5.70 weaker at US$1,792.30 an ounce. The dollar was buying US$1.036.


I don't blame Aks for abandoning this market for time with his kid. The Christmas doldrums have come early this year. In the absence of more profitable ideas, I've been skimming a few points off the mid-caps at support levels. Modest profits taken in IVC, SWM and DJS. Still holding ERA.