Half-time wrap:
Peak-rates optimism and a record gold price helped fire the ASX 200 to a 10-week high ahead of tomorrow's RBA policy meeting.
The Australian benchmark jumped 68 points or 0.96% this morning following a strong end to the trading week on Wall Street. US stocks closed at fresh 2023 highs after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted interest rates are restrictive enough now to tame inflation.
Gold miners shone this morning as the yellow metal bolted to an all-time high. Gold for February delivery traded as high as US$2,152.30 an ounce before paring its advance to US$2,107.40, a gain of 0.84%. Here, Bellevue Gold put on 5.67%, West African Resources 5.65% and Newmont 2.85%.
Also notably strong were tech stocks, REITs and small caps. The session's only significant drags were utilities and energy producers.
Personal trading: Caught the low in TOY and took a profit on FFG from last week. Other than that, all swings and misses so far.
