Afternoon trading September 20

Thanks @shovel40 and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

A strong morning saw Aussie shares rally to within 70 points of July's all-time high on the increased likelihood of a rate cut next month.

The ASX 200 was ahead 40 points or 0.6 per cent at 6758 mid-session, within touching distance of the July record at 6845. The index was on track for a fifth straight winning week as the repair work continued from the August trade-war sell-off.

This month's recovery accelerated yesterday after soft jobs figures bolstered the case for an October rate cut. The odds on a cut rose to 80 per cent yesterday from just 25 per cent at the start of the week, according to interbank futures. The dollar tumbled a cent yesterday and was this morning holding at 67.89 US cents.

Bond proxies - shares seen as safe and steady that offer predictable yields, similar to bonds - have outperformed this week as the dollar fell with the outlook for rates. Gas utility APA Group advanced 1 per cent this morning to a record. Rail freight operator Aurizon hit an all-time high yesterday and added 1.2 per cent today. Toll road group Transurban gained 1.4 per cent.

Gold stocks recouped yesterday's losses as the precious metal traded ten dollars above where it was during yesterday's Australian trading hours. Evolution Mining put on 3.9 per cent, Resolute Mining 3.7 per cent and Newcrest 3.1 per cent. Gold futures were lately $4.50 or 0.3 per cent firmer at $US1,510.70 an ounce.

Technology was the other standout sector as Xero gained 1.9 per cent, Afterpay 1.8 per cent and Nanosonics 1.6 per cent. Yesterday's star performer at the speculative end of the market, Kyckr, tacked on another 25 per cent.

NAB was the best of the banks, rising 0.7 per cent to a new 12-month peak. BHP gained 0.4 per cent.

What's hot today and what's not:

Hot today: Solomon Lew's Premier Investments was the index's best performer after the company announced record retail sales and profit and raised its dividend by 12.9 per cent. Shares surged 19.5 per cent to their strongest level in 11 months as the retail group defied weak consumer spending. Underlying retail earnings before interest and tax increased 11.5 per cent to $167.3 million as sales increased by 7.5 per cent to $1.27 billion. The company operates a string of retail outlets, including Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Peter Alexander and Smiggle.

Not today: shares in lithium junior BMG Resources cratered after the company reported on its first drill hole at its Salar West prospect in Chile. Investors abandoned ship after the drillbit reached 146 metres without intersecting brines. The company intends to drill to 200 metres to test a deeper zone, but many shareholders were not minded to hang around. The stock price fell as low as 6.5 cents before steadying at 7.5 cents, a loss of 37.5 per cent.

Asian markets inched higher. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng put on 0.2 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 0.4 per cent.S&P 500 index futures were recently ahead three points or 0.1 per cent.

Turning to commodity markets, Brent crude futures improved 52 cents or 0.8 per cent to $US64.92 a barrel.

Trading: started the session with a quick win and a day's wage from BMG, but it all went quiet after that. Might take an early mark.