Afternoon trading March 20

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Aussie shares rose for a third day after US investors showed few nerves ahead of tonight's Federal Reserve interest rate announcement.

The ASX 200 put on as much as 35 points in early trade before halving its gain to 18 points or 0.24% mid-session. Energy producers, banks and bulk metal miners steered the market higher. Drags included South32, Woolworths, Telstra and Transurban.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.56% overnight to a record close as the Federal Reserve commenced a two-day policy meeting. The US central bank is expected to leave the federal funds rate target unchanged tonight.


Personal trading: Struggled to get into trades this morning. Caught the low in FFG but didn't get enough of a fill for it to mean much.