Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew. Half-time wrap:
Aussie shares pushed for their biggest gain in two months after strong Chinese and US economic data soothed fears of a global slowdown.
The ASX 200 soared 132 points or 1.84% by mid-session. The materials sector led an advance that swept all sectors higher and lifted all but 11 of the index's component companies.
Today's rally was on track to be the index's largest single-day advance since a 167-point surge in mid-July. The explosive upswing followed the Dow's best night in more than a month.
Wall Street welcomed economic data that implied the US may dodge a recession as well as an interest rate rise this month. The Dow rallied 0.96% as investors bet the Federal Reserve will sit on its hands this month and the economy will avoid a hard landing.
The ASX caught a late-morning boost from news that Chinese industrial production and retail sales both grew faster than expected last month. Industrial production grew 4.5% year-on-year, smashing expectations for growth of 3.9%.
Personal trading: Never easy finding retraces when everything is flying to the moon. Liked the look of the OZM announcement pre-market, but that opening price pushed it way outside my risk parameters. (First question I ask before placing a trade is, how much could I lose here? Where's my stop loss?) Hats off to those who made a quid. Fortune favoured the brave. I squeezed some weekend money out of a couple of tiddlers.
