daytrading oct 8 afternoon

Thanks Endless.

Half-time round-up:

Australian shares slumped to their lowest level in a month as upbeat business confidence and job ad news failed to stem a third day of selling.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 25 points or 0.5% weaker at 5136, nearly 100 points below its last positive close on Thursday. Health stocks provided the morning's only advance, rising 1%. The gold sector led the retreat, falling 2.2%, followed by energy 1.3% and property trusts 1.1%.

The slide was briefly arrested by the 11.30am EST release of data that showed the first increase in job advertising in six months and business confidence at a three-and-a-half-year high. Job ads on the internet and in newspapers rose 0.2% last month, according to the ANZ Job Ads Survey. The NAB business confidence index improved to 12 points from 4 in August, but business conditions remained subdued at -4, up slightly from -7 in August.

US futures remained in the red as another day ended without public progress towards a deal on the debt ceiling and federal government shutdown. Dow futures were recently off 16 points or 0.1%.

"The real issue has now become the debt ceiling and that’s what worries investors," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP, told Bloomberg. "If it's not resolved, it could have catastrophic consequences for the global financial system."

Asian markets were mixed. Shanghai dipped 0.25% as trading resumed after the Golden Week public holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.22% and Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.31%.

Crude oil futures edged up four cents this morning to US$103.08 a barrel. Spot gold was $2.50 stronger at US$1,325.30 an ounce. The dollar was buying 94.22 US cents.


Treacherous conditions at the top end of the market. Nothing to be gained by buying early because the instos are grinding this market lower. I was caught out yesterday and haven't fared much better today. Added IAG and doubled down on LNC since my last post, but the overall position is little improved. (Rayray, well called on the LNC low.) Been a while since I strung together two losing sessions.