Shares marked time following a mixed performance by Wall Street over the Anzac Day break.
The ASX 200 resumed trade little changed, reaching the midpoint of the session four points or 0.1% weaker at 5917. Advances in health +1.5%, energy +1.3% and utilities +1.2% helped offset a 1.4% slump in the financial sector following two days of gains. The heavyweight materials sector was flat.
Yesterday's Anzac Day market holiday proved timely, with the S&P 500 tumbling 1.34% on Tuesday night before recovering 0.18% last night. S&P 500 futures were recently up 5.5 points or 0.21% after Facebook surged in after-market trade after reporting earnings ahead of expectations.
A mixed morning in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.68%, while Japan's Nikkei put on 0.59%.
Crude oil futures added 35 cents or 0.51% this morning to US$68.40 a barrel. Gold futures improved $2.10 or 0.16% to US$1,324.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 75.69 US cents.
Facebook's revenue seems to have weathered the recent storm. Apparently, marketers are still climbing over each other to pitch their wares alongside Russian bots and other sources of fake news. Go figure. Meanwhile, the XJO is politely ignoring Tuesday night's heavy fall in the US and pretending last night's modest rebound is what really mattered. Hmmmm.... Trading: nice early win in HXG. More patience needed with AHF and BSR.
