The ASX dipped towards break-even for the week as a lacklustre market continued to flip-flop in a narrow trading range.
The benchmark index, the ASX 200, eased two points or less than 0.1% this morning to 5743. The index has been stuck in a range for more than three months and would need to finish above 5247 to string together two consecutive winning weeks for the first time since the start of June.
An uneven domestic reporting season failed to encourage buyers this week. Also dampening sentiment was a mild retreat on Wall Street overnight as political grandstanding in Washington continued to unsettle investors. Analysts said investors were unwilling to add risk ahead of speeches this weekend from US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium.
"In a fundamentally quiet week punctuated by dramatic headlines such as the US President's threat to revive the debt ceiling crisis, many traders are finding it more comfortable to simply wait and see where the chips fall." IG analyst John Kicklighter told Fairfax. "This strategy of complacency hasn't failed them lately, so it seems the most logical course. It often does until markets and financial stability collapse."
Gains in energy stocks +1.7%, utilities +1% and health +0.2% were overshadowed by falls in telecoms -0.8%, financials -0.1% and metals & mining -0.1%.
The mood was brighter in Asia, where China's Shanghai Composite put on 0.79%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.64% and Japan's Nikkei 0.45%. Dow futures were recently up 10 points or 0.05%.
Crude oil futures jumped 31 cents or 0.65% this morning to US$47.74 a barrel. Gold futures dipped $1.10 or 0.09% to US$1,290.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 78.98 US cents.
Trading: caught the temporary bounce in BLY and squeezed a pip out of PNN. Not a bad week, but the scale of reversals in some of the parabolic gainers is making bounces difficult to read. BUB was the 'one that got away' this week. Should have been bolder with AKP and MSP this morning.
