Thanks @shovel40 and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
The final session of a challenging week brought some respite, but Aussie shares struggled for traction ahead of tonight's US jobs report.
The market took a breather this morning after two days of heavy selling, but trailled overnight gains on Wall Street. The ASX 200 inched up nine points or 0.1 per cent to 6502 by mid-session. Overnight, the S&P 500 bounced 23 points or 0.8 per cent as traders bet the Federal Reserve has their backs after a run of weak economic reports triggered recession fears. The week's biggest US release - the September employment report - is due tonight and has the potential to move the market sharply in either direction.
The local rebound barely made a dent in a two-day dive that knocked 250 points or 3.7 per cent off the benchmark index. The ASX 200 yesterday tumbled 147 points or 2.2 per cent.
Today's recovery was hindered by a double whammy of bad news for the financial sector. A Fairfax report this morning said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was preparing to launch a new inquiry into the sector. Separately, charges were announced against a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank, alleging breaches of anti-hawking legislation regarding insurance products. CBA declined 0.2 per cent, ANZ 0.7 per cent, NAB 1 per cent and Westpac 0.9 percent.
Health stocks led the rally following a broker upgrade for CSL. Shares in CSL jumped 2.6 per cent after analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their rating to 'Overweight' from 'Equal weight'. The rest of the sector was mixed. Cochlear edged up 0.5 per cent, while Mayne Pharma Group dropped 2.9 per cent.
The tech sector tends to swing to extremes of the broader market mood, and this morning rose 1.3 per cent. Appen added 2.9 per cent, Xero 2.8 per cent and Nextdc 2.3 per cent.
Internet lottery business Jumbo Interactive has been one of the year's best performers and this morning had a record close within reach after rising 6.1 per cent. Satellite communications provider Speedcast was the other standout, rising 4.8 per cent.
The morning's economic data showed retail sales rebounded in August, but not by as much as expected. Turnover improved 0.4 per cent following a 0.1 per cent decline in July. Economists had predicted sales would lift 0.5 per cent.What's hot today and what's not:
Hot today: shares in BetMakers Technology Group briefly doubled after the betting firm announced a deal to broaden its foothold in Australian and international markets. A company subsidiary has signed an agreement with global gaming group GVC to roll out BetMakers' technology and wagering products. GVC holds licences in more than 20 jurisdictions around the world and is the UK's largest high-street bookmaker. Share in BetMakers ran from 9.7 cents to 21 cents in early action before easing to 16.5 cents, a gain of 70 per cent.
Not today: the blows keep coming for the farming community this year. This week's initial public offer of shares in Trigg Mining was reported to be well supported by farmers looking for a local alternative to imported potassium fertilisers. The newly-listed company has two potash projects in WA. However, the IPO has proven one of the worst of the year, with the share price halving from 20 cents at listing yesterday to just 10 cents today.
US index futures deteriorated this morning as Asian markets proved reluctant to follow Wall Street's positive lead. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.3 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 0.1 per cent.S&P 500 index futures were recently down four points or 0.1 per cent. Chinese markets remained closed for Golden Week holidays.Turning to commodity markets, Brent crude futures rose 20 cents or almost 0.4 per cent this morning to $US57.91 a barrel. Gold futures added $1 or 0.1 per cent at $US1,514.80 an ounce.
On currency markets, the dollar was buying 67.53 US cents.
Trading: squeezed a wage out of IMC for a second day. Missed the rebound in KYK.
