Thanks Oscar and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
The share market held its ground despite sharp falls on Wall Street on Friday and pressure on the banks from changes to New Zealand capital buffers.
The ASX 200 reached mid-session three points or 0.1% ahead at 5605 after falling as low as 5585. A two-speed market saw gains in metals & mining +1.8%, materials +1.5%, utilities +0.9% and industrials +0.5% offset a 0.8% decline in financials. The weakness in the banks came after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced it wanted them to retain more capital as a buffer against economic shocks.
Asian markets shrugged off significant falls on Wall Street on Friday, where the S&P 500 shed 1.91% and the Dow 2.02%. China's Shanghai Composite dipped 0.12%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.04% andJapan's Nikkei gained 0.53%. S&P 500 futures mounted a tentative rebound this morning, recently ahead 9.35 points or 0.36%.
Crude oil futures improved 24 cents or 0.47% this morning to US$51.44 a barrel. Gold futures edged up 10 cents or 0.01%to US$1,241.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying 71.76 US cents.
Trading: DNA provided much of the excitement, but I did most of my buying a day early. Willing likely give another day or two to come good. Also caught some SCT at the low but that was also a defensive move. Ending the year with a few Christmas turkeys in the coop. Patience, laddie, patience.
