Daytrading Oct 5 afternoon

Thanks Oscar and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

Shares touched a two-week high this morning as traders snapped up resource stocks after weak US jobs data drove the greenback lower on Friday.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 81 points or 1.6% ahead at 5133 and on track for a third gain in four sessions. A regional measure, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, rose 0.4% in early trade and moved towards a fourth straight advance, which would be its longest winning run in nearly three months.

Gold stocks responded to Friday's stellar rally in the US with a jump of 8.2% this morning. The metals & mining sector surged 3.6%, materials 3.1% and energy 2.5%. The gains came after Friday's weak US jobs report pushed the US dollar lower, boosting dollar-denominated commodity prices.

US equity futures were under mild pressure following Friday's massive swing session. Dow futures were recently off 37 points or more than 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.97% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.6%. China's Shanghai Composite was closed for a public holiday.

A morning of strong domestic economic signals included a 3.9% jump in job advertising last month, an up-tick in annual inflation to 1.9% from 1.7% and a fourth straight improvement in services activity.

Crude oil futures advanced 13 cents or 0.3% this morning to US$45.67 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.40 weaker at US$1,137 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.73 US cents.


Well done if you're busy. I find these holiday sessions dangerous because of the volumes - very easy to get stuck in trades with no exit options. Plenty of volume in WKT but I left it alone because of the obvious pre-announcement buying. There was a good trade in it if you were quick. RAP now moving in the right direction after a textbook retrace on decreasing volume. Dabbles this morning in SOR, KCN, CV1 and a tiddler.