Thanks Oscar and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
Shares advanced towards a fourth straight win and a solid weekly gain following reports US officials were considering lifting tariffs on Chinese imports.
The ASX 200 rallied 35 points or 0.6% to 5885 mid-session, setting up the index's third weekly gain in four weeks since the market bottomed at a two-year low on Christmas Eve. A close around these levels would seal a weekly return of more than 100 points.
A broad rally lifted all sectors except gold (-0.1%), spearheaded by I.T. +1.5%, energy +0.9%, utilities +0.9% and metals & mining +0.9%. The heavyweight financials sector rose 0.7%.
A cautious upswing on Wall Street overnight accelerated sharply after the Wall Street Journal reported Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had suggested lifting tariffs on Chinese imports to encourage China to make concessions. Read more here. The S&P 500 closed 0.76% higher in choppy trade after US officials poured cold water on the report.
“As with 2018, the U.S.-China trade row remains a key market theme in 2019. A slight difference is that there are some signs that the two sides are seeking some sort of a resolution,” Soichiro Monji, senior economist at Daiwa SB Investments in Japan, told Reuters. “China seems to be running low on options, while the United States would also want to avoid a prolonged conflict given the negative consequences on its markets and the economy.”
The mood on Asian markets was positive. China's Shanghai Composite added 0.66%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.06% andJapan's Nikkei 1%. S&P 500 futures were recently up 8.25 points or 0.31%.
Crude oil futures put on 63 cents or 1.21% this morning to US$52.70 a barrel. Gold futures faded $1.80 or 0.14%to US$1,290.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying 71.99 US cents.
Trading: good to see some life coming back into the spec market. Different feel this morning, especially for a Friday. Decent win in AMS, small one in ATU.
