Afternoon trading Aug 23

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

A strong night on Wall Street failed to inspire a second day of gains in Australia as an uneven domestic reporting season continued.

The ASX 200 rallied more than 30 points in early action before fading to a loss of 20 points or 0.35% at 5730 at the halfway mark following poorly-received earnings reports from IAG, Coca-Cola Amatil, Woolworths and Healthscope. Woolworths briefly provided a bright spot in what analysts have described as a season where there have been more earnings misses than hits, but early gains evaporated in line with the broader market.

Energy stocks rallied 1.2%, industrials 0.2% and telecoms 0.2%. Utilities declined 1.3%, IT 1.3% and health 0.9%.

US stocks surged overnight after politicians dampened fears of another stand-off over the approaching government debt ceiling, and House Republican leader Paul Ryan said President Trump's tax plans would be easier to enact than his failed health program. The Dow and Nasdaq staged their strongest advances in almost four months.

"Today's action suggests there is some degree of optimism that something's going to get done. It's still going to be difficult," Jack Ablin, CIO of BMO Private Bank in the US, told CNBC. "Their willingness to get something done has improved. The likelihood is still very low for this year."

China's Shanghai Composite dipped 0.09%. Japan's Nikkei put on 0.46%. Dow futures were recently off 33 points or 0.15%.

Gold futures retreated $1.80 or 0.14% to US$1,289.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 78.98 US cents.


Trading: one of those days when the first 15 minutes were so profitable I should have packed up and gone to the beach. But it's winter and the nearest beach is 100km away, so I stuck at it and it all went quiet. Nailed early opps in ARV and AVZ and could have had second bites at both with a bit more application. Good day, but should have done better.