Day traders' after-market lounge April 18

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

The share market logged its first gain in a week as overnight commodity price gains and stock prices at multi-week lows attracted buyers.

The ASX 200's five-session losing run ended with a rally of 36.5 points or 0.48%. Miners, tech stocks and banks steered the market higher, offsetting down-pressure from healthcare providers and telcos.

The official unemployment rate crept up last month, reversing some of an unexpectedly sharp decline in February. The jobless rate rose from 3.7% to 3.8% as total employment declined by 6,600 jobs. Economists had forecast a larger rise to 3.9%.

US stocks continued to weaken overnight as the corporate earnings delivered more downside than upside surprises and as high-flying megacaps lose altitude. The S&P 500 dropped 0.58% to a fourth straight loss.