daytrading oct 31 afternoon

Thanks Endless. Also Gttrain for launching the pre-market thread - my appreciation is as boundless as my hangover is heavy.

Half-time round-up:

The share market has overcome a poorly-received profit report from NAB and gloomy US futures to reach lunchtime little changed.

At 1pm the ASX 200 was two points or less than 0.1% higher at 5433, well above the session's weakest point at 5398. Gains in consumer staples +1.1%, telecoms +0.7% and materials +0.4% offset falls in gold -1% and financials -0.7%. Shares in NAB fell more than 2% after the bank said changes to capital requirements for Australian lenders could impact future dividends.

US futures signalled concerns over the possibility that the Federal Reserve may reduce its stimulus effort earlier than the market expected. Dow futures were recently down 66 or 0.4%.

"Tapering is inevitable, and that's what you read from last night's statement," Donald Williams, chief investment officer at Platypus Asset Management, told Bloomberg. "The timing is still unsure, but the market is going to price in the likelihood of tapering in the next six months at the latest."

China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.68%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.55% and Japan's Nikkei 0.33%.

Crude oil futures were trading at US$96.61 a barrel. Spot gold was at US$1,337.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 95.04 US cents.



May be time to be a little more cautious following the Fed's warning shot last night. A market pullback is overdue and Bernanke looks to have handed Wall Street an excuse. My main objective on low-wattage days like today is to avoid doing anything expensive. That approach rarely makes for exciting or wildly profitable trading. Figured GGG had come back far enough for a possible bounce, but it has stalled at the buy price. Also took a first dab at BRL for possible recovery. Just missed UNX. Good day for a nap.