Afternoon trading September 14

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

The share market climbed off a two-and-a-half week low as employment rebounded and strengthening iron ore and uranium prices lifted miners.

The ASX 200 firmed 32 points or 0.45% by mid-session. Healthcare was the only drag as ten of eleven sectors advanced, led by resource stocks and banks.

The market added to gains following news that the labour market added three times as many jobs last month than expected. Total employment increased by 64,900 jobs, rebounding from a loss of 14,600 positions in July. The jobless rate held steady at 3.7%.

"Looking over the past two months, the average employment growth was around 32,000 people per month, which is similar to the average growth over the past year," Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said.

AMP's chief economist, Shane Oliver, said the report was unlikely to sway the Reserve Bank's thinking on interest rates: "The Aug jobs data is neutral for the RBA as the labour mkt is still tight but its gradually cooling." he tweeted.

Uranium stocks provided much of the morning's excitement. Big movers included CXU +28.57%, 92E +20.75%, AGE +17.54%, PEN +13.64% and DYL +9.28%. Share prices have taken off as uranium entered a bull market, gaining more than 20% this year and trading at its highest level since 2011.



Personal trading: On a day like this it's hard to argue with @64eheh's observation that we should quit day trading and just ride uranium stocks to the moon. Sounds more fun than the turgid morning I had rummaging through the discount bins. Had a lot of lines in the water, but only one bite - TEM at 0.8c. Market appears to think there is a CR in the wind.