Afternoon trading April 17

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

Half-time wrap:

A record gold price and a rally in oil helped Australian shares shrug off weak overnight leads as investors showed few nerves heading into the Easter break.

The ASX 200 firmed 33 points or 0.42% by mid-session.

The gold sub-sector hit a new peak after the yellow metal burst through US$3,300 an ounce overnight. Precious metals have emerged as a haven of last resort as tariff uncertainty weighs on the US dollar and global bond and stock markets. Winners here this morning included Westgold +1.89% and Sandfire Resources +3.98%.

The market added to its initial gains after March jobs data came in slightly below expectations. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% last month from a downwardly-revised 4% in February. Total employment increased by 32,200, shy of an expected 40,000.

The market took in its stride sharp falls on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve and chipmaker Nvidia flagged negative consequences from the Trump administration's trade policies. The S&P 500 slumped 2.24%.


Personal trading: Well I totally misread the market sentiment this morning. To my mind, a big red night on Wall Street plus two days of US trade before we reopen next Tuesday oughta equal risk-off. Positioned for red and they gave us green. Huh. Tradewise, I booked half a pip from IMU and took NAN at a retest of intraday support from last week for not very much gain at all.