Afternoon trading July 18

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1, @uncleBuck, @JohnI and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

The ASX 200 cracked 8700 for the first time after upbeat economic data soothed worries about the US economy and sent US stocks to new heights.

The Australian stock benchmark leaped 91 points or 1.05% this morning to 8730.

Healthcare providers and miners led a rally wide enough to raise all sectors. The buoyant market mood helped lift the Small Ords 1.05% and the spec stocks of the Emerging Companies Index 1.31%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at records overnight following a strong rebound in retail sales last month and a drop in claims for unemployment benefits. The S&P 500 put on 0.54%


Personal trading: Solid morning. Pip from ODY. Profit from A1G after buying yesterday's slump. A few peanuts from MHK and EMD. Dumb loss in YAL - sold as soon as I realised they released a quarterly last night. Bought in haste, repented at leisure...