daytrading sep 12 afternoon

Thanks for stepping up this morning, Suzie.

Half-time round-up:

Australian shares hit a two-week high this morning as regional markets and US futures surfed a wave of global optimism ahead of tonight's German court decision about Europe's bailout fund.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 31 points or more than 0.7% higher at 4357 and on track for its highest close this month. The twin pillars of the ASX, the financial and materials sectors, were both up more than 1% as cyclical stocks outperformed defensives.

A regional index was tilting at its fifth straight advance, which would be its longest winning run in two months. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied 0.7% as Shanghai added 0.39%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.05% and Japan's Nikkei 1.36%. Dow futures were recently up 33 points or 0.25%.

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court will rule tonight on the validity of the country's participation in the euro-zone's rescue funds (European Stability Mechanism).

"The most likely outcome is that the court rules the European Stability Mechanism legal but also imposes conditions on its future use," Capital Economics strategist Jennifer McKeown told MarketWatch.

Consumer sentiment improved this month but remained stuck at a level where pessimists outnumber optimists. The WBC-MI index rallied 1.6 points to 98.2.

"The consumer is clearly stuck in an extended 'cautiously pessimistic' phase," Westpac chief economist Bill Evans told Fairfax.

Crude oil futures rallied 18 cents this morning to US$97.12 a barrel. Spot gold was flat at US$1,734.40 an ounce. The dollar was buying $US1.0473.


Always nice on the rare days when the market follows the script. The bounce in iron ore and breakouts in base metals seem to have shaken some of the pessimism out of the market. After a very good start to the trading week, I spent a low-key morning twice skimming a few points off the lows in TAH. Also caught the low in PBT but with the sort of irritating part-fill that barely offers enough for a few beers.