Thanks Tradesurfer and morning crew. All the best, Jeans Sammy.
Half-time round-up:
Shares overcame early losses to edge higher for a sixth straight session ahead of a Chinese economic update.
The ASX 200 was one point or less than 0.1% ahead at 5564 just before the 1pm EST monthly factory and retail data predicted to show little change from the previous month within our biggest trading partner. A mixed morning saw gains in health +0.8%, IT +0.5% and consumer staples +0.7% offset weakness in financials -0.3%, materials -0.2% and telecoms -0.2%.
US stocks ticked lower overnight as traders fretted over the tone of tomorrow night's Federal Open Market Committee statement.
“The moves today suggest traders don’t see a more hawkish stance materializing and that the Fed is likely to maintain a slow and steady course on tightening policy,” Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, told Bloomberg. “The event risk increases somewhat in Asia today.”
Asian markets were mixed but little changed. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.45% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.16%. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.01%. Dow futures were recently ahead by 22 points or 0.11%.
Gold futures faded $1.10 or 0.1% to US$1,164.90 an ounce. Crude oil futures held steady at US$52.83 a barrel. The dollar was buying 74.96 US cents.
Not long now til the fat bloke comes down the chimney. It's the last week of school, I'm spending a fortune on Amazon, I've considered buying Xmas cards then realised it's too late - yep, we're close. The share market is usually pretty forgiving around this time of year and today is no exception. Let's enjoy while it lasts. Trading: got onto SIV near enough to the low to enjoy the rebound. Also took BSR, but no excitement there.
