Afternoon trading April 17

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

The share market rose for the first time in five session as investors took advantage of prices at two-month lows.

The ASX 200 overcame soft leads and early weakness to advance 15 points or 0.2% by mid-session. Gold miners, utilities and tech stocks drew a bid. The energy and materials sectors were the only laggards.

Today's reversal follows four days of selling that yesterday drove the index to a level last seen in February.

Wall Street finished mixed in choppy overnight trade after the head of the Federal Reserve confirmed what has been obvious to many investors for some months: inflation appears to have stalled well above central bank targets, undermining the case for rate cuts. Corporate earnings helped the Dow inch up 0.17%. Declines in rate-sensitive sectors dragged the S&P 500 down 0.21%.


Personal trading: Not as easy bargain-hunting this morning, Couple of pips from LYN. Swung and missed at plenty more.