Afternoon trading January 2

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

Half-time wrap:

The share market fell agonisingly short of a new high this morning as New Year optimism overshadowed a soft end to the US trading year.

The ASX 200 hit 7632.7 before trimming its rise to 19 points or 0.25% at 7609 at the halfway mark. The rally peaked a mere one-tenth of a point short of the high-water mark of 7632.8 set back in August 2021.

Energy producers, telcos and healthcare providers led the charge. Gold miners, property trusts and spec stocks were among the pockets of weakness.

The local market shrugged off a mild bout of profit-taking on Wall Street on the last session before New Year. The S&P 500 eased 0.28% on Friday after rising to within 0.2% of its old peak.


Personal trading: Took the retrace in IAG for a scalp where there has been previous buying interest. Support holding, but no meaningful rebound yet. Also took HMI at the CR price. Should have nailed an easy intraday swing in NAB earlier in the session.