Shares staged a tepid rebound from a two-week low as the big banks steadied and miners rallied.
The ASX 200 edged up 12 points or 0.2% to 6139, paring two days of sharp falls at the start of the week as soft housing data and the interim report from the Royal Commission plunged the financial sector to a three-and-a-half-month low. The sector was last off 0.1% as an early bounce faded.
The gold sector led the advance, rising 3.4% after the precious metal attracted haven buying overnight amid jitters over the health of the Italian economy. Read more here. Gold futures were lately up another $4 or 0.3% at US$1,211.80 an ounce. Also strong were metals & mining +1.2%, materials +1%, utilities +1% and energy +0.7%.
Asian markets were mixed but little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched ahead 0.13% and Japan's Nikkei eased 0.06%. Trade on China's Shanghai Composite remained suspended for the golden week public holiday. S&P 500 futures were recently ahead 5.25 points or 0.18%.
Crude oil futures added a cent or 0.01% this morning to US$75.24 a barrel. The dollar was buying 71.81 US cents.
Trading: been firing blanks all morning. Market has certainly sparked into life, with the likes of BIT, EDE and TAS looking frothy. I've been too cautious.
