Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew. Half-time wrap:...

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Australian shares rallied for the first time in three sessions after unemployment fell and cooling US inflation powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh highs.

The ASX 200 bounced 40 points or 0.52%. Gains in rate-sensitive sectors helped offset declines in resource stocks as a tough week for miners continued.

The jobless rate eased to 4% last month from 4.1% in April as the economy added 39,700 jobs. The market showed minimal reaction to the news, which was broadly in line with expectations.

Wall Street laid the groundwork for this morning's advance after better-than-expected May inflation figures helped investors look past news the Federal Reserve may only cut rates once this year. The S&P 500 climbed 0.85%.


Personal trading: Couple of pips from LTP from near the low. Seemed to take an eternity to make beer money on AVG. Took NTU too early yesterday and exited this morning for a loss.