Afternoon trading August 24

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

The share market staged a relief rally as the election of Treasurer Scott Morrison to leadership of the Liberal Party ended a week of political uncertainty in Canberra.

The ASX 200 bounced 21 points or 0.3% to 6265 on the news shortly before 1pm EST. Domestic shares had fallen for three sessions since Peter Dutton's challenge for the leadership of the Liberal Party on Tuesday threw domestic politics into turmoil.

Weighing on sentiment earlier in the session was news that trade negotiations between the US and China ended without a breakthrough or any plans to reconvene. Read more here. However, US equity futures showed little sign of concern, with S&P 500 futures lately up 1.25 points or 0.04%. Overnight, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17%. The impact was more evident in Asia, where China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.63% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.83%. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.35%.

Crude oil futures put on 24 cents or 0.35% this morning to US$68.07 a barrel. Gold futures fell $1.80 or 0.15% to US$1,192.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 72.55 US cents.



Been a good week. Can't complain about want of opportunities. The specs have sparked up and the reporting season is offering volatility. Some heavy falls on recent breakouts this morning. I had two swings apiece at WTC and ADA for three wins and a minor loss.