daytrading oct 17 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

A third morning of gains brought shares within 13 points of the September five-year closing high as a bill to raise the US debt ceiling cleared the Senate and moved to the House of Representatives.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 18 points or 0.35% ahead at 5281 but off the session peak of 5294. Gains in defensive sectors, financials +0.7% and industrials +0.3% offset weakness among resource stocks.

The rally came as a bipartisan deal to temporarily increase the federal borrowing limit and re-open the government cleared the Senate this morning. President Obama said he would sign the legislation "immediately" after it is passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner said there was no reason for Republicans to reject the bill as debate got underway in the House within the last hour. Read more here.

Some analysts expressed disappointment that the deal only extends the borrowing limit and government spending authority until early next year. "The can has been kicked further down the road," IG strategist Evan Lucas told Fairfax. "The reset button has been pushed and we will go thought this all again in two months time."

Back home, business confidence hit a two-year high even while conditions continued to deteriorate, according to NAB's quarterly survey. Business conditions in the mining industry fell to a 14.5 year low. Read more here.
US futures were mildly positive as events in Washington played out as expected. Dow futures were recently up 11 points or less than 0.1%. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.18% and Japan's Nikkei 1.11%.

Crude oil futures slipped four cents this morning to US$102.20 a barrel. Spot gold was $4.20 firmer at US$1,283.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 95.44 US cents.


The market had pretty much pre-empted today's deal and therefore looked a bit hesitant this morning as it once more nears the five-year high. Onwards and upwards from here or time for a breather? Giz, thanks for the compliment this morning, but I'm not trading too smart right now. Hit one of those periodic lean patches where I'm out of sync with the market and struggling. Volumes are a problem where I usually play. Nothing that a few good trades won't fix but it erodes confidence to the extent that even when I was in the right place yesterday (DIG), I snatched at a profit this morning instead of letting it run. Paltry part-fill in BUL also gave a modest profit. Small speculator in HTA. Bread and water at my house until I rediscover the winning touch.