Afternoon trading October 29

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

Half-time wrap:

The Australian share market broke out of its sideways trading band, advancing after Wall Street rallied ahead of top-tier earnings and economic data later this week.

The ASX 200 rose 37 points or 0.44% by mid-session. The market has struggled for traction for the last week as a choppy US earnings season continued and a bond market sell-off intensified.

US stocks rallied overnight as crude prices tumbled, easing inflation worries. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq firmed almost 0.3%. The Dow broke a five-session losing streak with a rise of 0.65%.

Strength here included gold miners, property trusts and retailers. Energy producers, healthcare providers and utilities kept the index's gains in check.


Personal trading: Not as active as I want to be. All the best opportunities seemed to come and go in the first 15 minutes. Took a pip off SER, but then managed to parley a winning position in SNG into a losing one. Exited EWC from yesterday way too soon.