Afternoon trading December 12

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1, @Patterns and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Australian shares tested a near three-month high after RBA Governor Michele Bullock indicated she was happy with the central bank's efforts to date to control inflation.

The ASX 200 rallied 29 points or 0.4% by mid-session with 10 of 11 sectors on the rise. Tech and healthcare set the pace, both gaining more than 1.1%. Telix Pharmaceutical, Cochlear and Xero were among the standouts.

Bullock rejected a suggestion at a Sydney summit that the RBA was trailling other central bank efforts to contain inflation.

"I don't think we're falling behind at all," she said. "I think we're trying to make sure that we slow the economy enough to bring inflation down to our target band."

In economic news, business confidence slumped to a two-year low last month, according to a NAB survey. The bank's confidence index dived 5.8 points to -8.7 points. Business conditions remained positive, but deteriorated four points to +8.7 points.

A separate report showed Australians grew marginally less gloomy this month following a pause in interest rate hikes. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence index climbed 2.7% to an eight-month high at 82.1 points, still well below the 100-point level that divides optimism from pessimism.

"The gloom that deepened last month has lifted slightly heading into year-end, but consumers remain far from upbeat," Westpac economist Matthew Hassan said..


Personal trading: I'm stone-cold so far this week. Stop losses getting hit very quickly. Not a bounce in sight. Haven't had a losing week in months, but I need a strong second half to turn this one around. Gulp.