Thanks Oscar and morning crew.Half-time round-up:Shares trimmed...

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares trimmed early gains as the government lost another MP and US futures were torpedoed by tariff threats from the White House.

The ASX 200 peaked at 5711 in the first fifteen minutes of trade before trimming its gain to 19 points or 0.3% at 5691 mid-session. Hopes the local market would benefit from strong overnight gains on Wall Street were dashed by the after-market reaction to an interview with US President Donald Trump published this morning. Shares in market colossus Apple slumped more than 2% after Trump mentioned possible tariffs on iPhones in the next round of punitive measures against China. That helped pull S&P 500 futures down 12.25 points or 0.46%. Overnight, the benchmark US index advanced 1.55%.

Adding to pressures on the local market was news Liberal MP Julia Banks has turned her back on the party to sit on the crossbenches. The defection reduces the government's representation in the House of Representatives to 74 out of 150, hampering its ability to pursue legislation.

I.T. was the pick of the sectors, rising 2.2%. Financials added 0.8%, telecoms 0.7% and materials 0.1%. Gold stocks declined 1.4%.

Asian markets traded mixed. China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.17%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.62% andJapan's Nikkei added 0.24%.

Crude oil futures gave back 42 cents or 0.81% this morning to US$51.21 a barrel. Gold futures eased 70 cents or 0.06%to US$1,228 an ounce. The dollar was buying 72.15 US cents.

 

 

Trading:it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas. And not in a good way. In a "no volume" way. I haven't had a sniff all morning.