Afternoon trading April 2

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Resource stocks edged the ASX 200 to fresh heights as much of the rest of the market struggled for traction.

The Australian benchmark traded as high as 7910.3 as a holiday-shortened week got underway. At the halfway mark the index was up four points or 0.04% at 7900.

Just three sectors advanced following a mixed night on Wall Street. Materials gained 1.24%, energy 0.98% and utilities 0.13%. Telcos and consumer staples were the biggest checks on the index.

The minutes from last month's RBA rates meeting showed officials believed the economy was tracking broadly in line with expectations, leaving upside and downside risks broadly balanced. Ultimately, the board left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%.

"Members agreed that it was therefore not possible to either rule in or out future changes in the cash rate target," the minutes noted.

US stocks traded mixed either side of the Easter break. Overnight, the S&P 500 eased 0.2%, reversing a 0.11% rise on Thursday.


Personal trading: Shaky return from the holiday break. No runs on the board yet. Took ALA too soon on retrace.