Afternoon trading December 20

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

Half-time wrap:

The ASX 200 broke above 7500 for the first time since February after the Dow's record run continued overnight.

The Australian benchmark was ahead 32 points or 0.42% at 7521 at mid-session. The morning high of 7546 brought the index briefly to within 90 points of its all-time high of 7633, set back in February 2021. Previous attempts to break that high fell short twice in 2022 and again earlier this year.

This morning's gains were broad enough to lift all 11 sectors. Telcos, utilities and consumer stocks offered the best returns.

Buyers were encouraged by a ninth straight gain for the Dow and a fifth consecutive record high. Traders once again brushed off attempts by Federal Reserve officials to dampen expectations that interest rates could fall as soon as March. The Dow put on 0.68%, outpacing gains of 0.59% for the S&P 500 and 0.66% for the Nasdaq.



Personal trading: Wasted morning. In and out of BIO for brokerage. Lost confidence in the trade when a big seller kept smashing the bid.