Thanks afternoon crew. Great trading week. Conditions have improved significantly this month.
End-of-day summary:
The share market rallied for a second week as investors became more confident that cooling inflation in the world's largest economy means US interest rates have likely reached a top.
The ASX 200 advanced 73 points or 1% for the week despite paring gains across the last two sessions. The Australian benchmark eased nine points or 0.13% today after Wall Street's November rally stalled overnight.
There were gains today for miners, industrials, tech stocks and healthcare providers. The energy sector was the biggest drag, sliding 1.6% after weak US economic data helped drive Brent crude to a four-month low.
Energy was also a significant drag in the US overnight as the major indices finished mixed. The Dow gave up 0.13%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq nudged up 0.12% and 0.07%, respectively.
US stocks surged earlier in the week after cooler-than-expected inflation data raised the odds on a rates pause next month to 99.8%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
