Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew. Half-time wrap:...

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Well-received trading updates from BHP, Woodside and Coles helped keep the share market near record levels despite a mixed night on Wall Street.

The ASX 200 rallied to within a few points of its highest close before fading to a mid-session loss of four points or 0.05%. Declines in consumer stocks, industrials, tech companies and most of the banks offset gains in resource socks and utilities.

Index heavyweight BHP popped 1.97% on a 2% increase in underlying profit. A profit beat helped Woodside rally 4.62%. Coles climbed 2.33% to its highest in two years after declaring a 2.1% increase in net profit.

US stocks finished mixed overnight as a rotation from growth stocks to the Dow implied mild risk aversion ahead of a trading update this week from Nvidia. The Dow edged up 0.16% to an all-time high. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished lower.


Personal trading: Important to have trading rules. Double-check your sell order to make sure you're not about to sell at the price you just paid. Don't buy miles above a capital raising price when a load of cheap shares have hit, or are about to hit, the market. I broke both this morning (RDN, KLI) but somehow I'm still ahead, thanks to wins in SUM and DUN. Careless. Won't always get this lucky.