Afternoon trading May 19

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

The share market rose for a second day after optimism over debt ceiling negotiations helped lift two of Wall Street's three major indices to nine-month highs. The ASX 200 climbed 45 points or 0.62% to test the top band of its current medium-term downtrend.

The tech sector rose to its highest since last April in the wake of yesterday's well-received trading update from Xero. Macquarie Group led a rally in the financial sector. The gold sub-sector sank to a six-week low.

US futures remained upbeat. S&P 500 futures firmed 0.2%. Elsewhere, Japan's share benchmark touched its highest level today since 1990.

Personal trading: Half a pip from MNB. Also took CAY on retrace.