Daytrading Oct 17 afternoon

Thanks Shants and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

The share market looks set to record its best weekly return in at least eight weeks despite paring gains as select defensive sectors dragged.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 27 points or 0.5% ahead at 5283 after earlier reaching a six-day high of 5308. The index was within easy reach of its second weekly gain in eight weeks and its best tally since a 79-point gain in late August. IT +1.5%, financials +1.1%, industrials +0.8% and consumer discretionary +0.7% topped the sector gains. Telecoms -0.3% and utilities -0.3% brought up the rear.

The rebound came as economists speculated about whether recent declines on global equity markets offered a buying opportunity for value investors.

“Markets in Europe, Australia and Japan are looking attractive,” Steven Milch, chief economist at Suncorp, told Bloomberg. “I don’t think the fundamental picture has changed significantly. US data overnight was pretty good. The Fed needs to balance what is clearly a strong economy against some of this financial market volatility.”

Bullish US futures added to the upbeat market mood. Emini Dow futures were recently up 97 points or 0.6%. Asian markets were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.87%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei was little changed at -0.04%.

Crude oil futures rallied 88 cents this morning to US$83.40 a barrel. Spot gold was $4.60 weaker at US$1,236.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 87.93 US cents.


The repair work on the index continues. US futures up, oil up, gold down, domestic defensives down, - all point to improving risk appetite. The Small Ords is up 0.6%. Still quiet in the spec market, but hopefully the weekend will give potential investors time to reflect on the gains in the broader market and perhaps put some money to work next week. The specs are always slower to pick up on mood changes. Trading: a slower day for me. Moderately profitable trades in CTP and RRL. Been a fun week.