Thanks Oscar and morning crew. Get well, buddy. At least it sounds like the hangover might have been worth it.
Half-time round-up:
The share market was poised to end the week near where it started following a second day of repair work.
The ASX 200 edged up 14 points or 0.2% to 5992, close to the 5990 level where it ended last Friday. Losses in resource stocks triggered by sharp falls in iron ore and gold yesterday were outweighed by gains in energy stocks +0.8%, telecoms +1.1% and financials +0.6%.
The dollar slid back towards 75 US cents ahead of tonight's monthly US jobs report. The Aussie was lately buying 75.04 US cents.
China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.27%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.32% and Japan's Nikkei added 1.02%. Dow futures were recently ahead 13 points or 0.05%.
Crude oil futures faded eight cents or 0.14% this morning to US$56.61 a barrel. Gold futures maintained their downward momentum, lately down $3.40 or 0.27% to US$1,249.70 an ounce.
Been a ho-hum sideways week at the top end. Still plenty of action at the spec end, but it does feel like there has been a seasonal drop-off in volumes, albeit from unusually exaggerated levels of activity. November was a cracker of a month - my strongest in about six years - so it didn't feel like there was anywhere to go but backwards. This week has been solid, but down on recent times. Trading: kept the account ticking over with wins in AU8 and GME, neither substantial.
