Thanks afternoon crew. Interesting week. I made good coin through the first half, gave some of it back across the last two sessions. Have a good weekend, all.
End-of-day summary:
The share market ended a strong week with a third straight record close as earnings season soothed some valuation worries and investors looked ahead to a possible interest rate cut next week.
The ASX 200 hit a new high this morning before paring its rally to 16 points or 0.19%. The index briefly gained as much as 75 points before profit-takers stepped in.
The first substantial week of the half-year earnings season brought well-received trading updates from CBA, South32, Computershare, ASX Ltd, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources. But it wasn't all plain selling: there were disappointments from AMP, CSL, Cochlear, AGL and Suncorp, among others.
The Reserve Bank meets next week for the first policy meeting of 2025 with investors hoping for the first rate cut since 2020.
US stocks rallied overnight as wholesale inflation bolstered hopes for another rate cut, and the White House laid out a reciprocal tariff timeline that offered a stay of execution for several weeks. The S&P 500 advanced 1.04%.
