Thanks Oscar and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
The share market's winning run extended into a new month as US officials worked to bolster confidence in a trade deal with China following the collapse of nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea.
The ASX 200 rallied 32 points or 0.5% to 6201 this morning, positioning the index for a third straight gain and its ninth rise in eleven sessions.
Global markets have made good gains this year in the belief that China and the US are close to sealing a deal to end their damaging trade war. The White House wheeled out the big guns overnight to reassure investors that negotiations remain on track. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that although a deal was not yet a certainty, the two sides have made "a lot of progress". White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow went further: he said negotiators had made "fantastic" progress. That helped soothe market wobbles after the long-awaited summit in Vietnam between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended yesterday in disarray. The S&P 500 slipped 0.28% overnight, but did not fall off a cliff.
Back here, investors extended a rally that saw the ASX 200 surge 5.2% during February as a solid earnings season soothed fears that the economy was running out of gas. Miners have been a standout, splashing plenty of cash in the form of special dividends. This morning the big banks took up the baton, boosting the financial sector 0.7% as index heavyweight CBA advanced 0.6% to a three-week high.
Resource stocks dragged following yesterday's disappointing Chinese factory figures, which showed manufacturing activity contracted for a third straight month during February. The materials sector slipped 0.3%.
The session's best performers included the Small Ords, up 0.7% to its highest level since early October, and I.T,, rising 2%. The worst of the sectors was energy, falling 1.5% as Caltex and Origin Energy traded without their dividends.
This morning's spec bolter was a software minnow called 9 Spokes International, which announced a partnership with Microsoft New Zealand that will see Microsoft's sales team sell the 9 Spokes tracking tool to its banking customers. The deal sounded tasty enough for punters to boost the 9 Spokes share price an eye-watering 200%.
Asian markets improved as a private measure of Chinese factory activity came in stronger than yesterday's official gauge. Caixin's manufacturing PMI rose to 49.9 last month from 48.3 in January, a much stronger result that analysts expected. China's Shanghai Composite rallied 0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.17% andJapan's Nikkei 0.8%. S&P 500 futures were recently ahead six points or 0.2%.
Crude oil futures rose 17 cents or 0.3% this morning to $US57.39 a barrel. Gold futures were flat at $US1,316 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.94 US cents.
Looking ahead to what might move the market over the next 24 hours, there are no major economic announcements scheduled in the US tonight, but investors will keep a wary eye on any pronouncements from the White House regarding trade negotiations. Europe is due to release employment and manufacturing data.
This market is definitely sparking up. The XJO has poked its head through 6200 and that big rally in 9SP suggests the animal spirits are starting to stir at the speculative end of the market. Trading: waiting for an entry in 9SP. Caught the bounce in EM1 and a smaller one in BNO. Been a good morning.
