Good morning traders. Thanks @ttward, @Ravgnome & the aftermarket loungers.

I bring you more bad news today, the price of bacon could be about to rise.

We’ve also had quite the busy day on the macro side. The ECB released its rates decision, and also in europethe EU is meeting in Brussels to decide whether to give Theresa May &Britain the extension to article 50, and exactly how long to extend it for. Someone on Bloomberg described the Brexit situation as a “rolling cliff-edge”, and I don’t think I could find a better way to describe it, such is the continuing uncertainty it continues to bring to Europe.

In the U.S. inflation figures came out, and the Fed released the minutes from its March meeting.

ASX Market Report

The Australian share market has finished flat after a session in which the big banks gained and the miners lost ground, a reversal of recent patterns.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 1.7 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 6,223.5 points at 1615 AEST on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up one points, or 0.02 per cent, to 6,316.5.

Still, Julia Lee, equities market analyst with Bell Direct, said it wasn't a bad day given the negative lead-in from the United States, where the S&P 500 slipped 0.61 per cent.

Tech stocks were the biggest gainers, up 0.53 per cent, with Afterpay Touch up 1.5 per cent to $25.03, Computershare up 0.63 per cent to $17.52 and Xero up 0.84 per cent to $51.40

Industrials, consumer staples and property trusts also saw gains.

Crown Resorts fell 9.11 per cent to $12.77 after Wynn Resorts said it had scrapped its takeover bid for the James Packer-controlled company after it leaked. Still Crown is up about a dollar from where it was trading before news of the possible acquisition leaked on Tuesday.

The big banks were all in the green, led by Commonwealth, up 0.71 per cent to $70.75. Westpac was up 0.23 per cent, NAB up 0.16 per cent and ANZ up 0.12 per cent.

Miners lost ground, down 0.33 per cent collectively, with BHP down 0.35 per cent to $39.89, South32 down 1.86 per cent to $3.70 and Fortescue Metals down 0.37 per cent to $8.17. Rio Tinto gained ground, however, moving up 0.25 per cent to $101.83.

The energy segment fell 0.72 per cent as a whole after oil prices edged lower overnight. Santos, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy were down between 0.43 per cent and 1.1 per cent.

Michael Hill shares dropped 8.21 per cent to 61.5 cents after the jewellry retailer said its Australian sales were still slipping.

Trading volumes were light with Victoria on school holidays.

After the markets closed, Lynas Corp reiterated in a letter to shareholders that it wouldn't engage with Wesfarmers on its $2.25-a-share takeover proposal, saying the offer undervalued the rare earth miner.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 1.7 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 6,223.5 points at 1630 AEDT on Wednesday.

* The All Ordinaries was up one points, or 0.02 per cent, to 6,316.5.

* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index flat at 6208.

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 71.48 US cents, from 71.44 US on Tuesday

* 79.44 Japanese yen, from 79.55

* 63.41 euro cents, from 63.41

* 54.68 British pence, from 54.57

* 105.85 NZ cents, from 105.81

Global Markets Report

The euro rose and world stock markets edged higher on Wednesday amid tame U.S. inflation data and as the European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy stance unchanged but warned that economic risks remained to the downside.

ECB President Mario Draghi confirmed policymakers were considering whether measures are needed to mitigate the impact on European banks of the central bank’s negative deposit rates.

European bank stocks declined and the yield on Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond fell to a one-week low of negative 0.038%, about 0.05 percentage point from 2-1/2 year lows they hit last month.

Major European stock indexes rose, though sentiment was capped by U.S. threats earlier this week to slap tariffs on goods from the European Union.

Separately, data showed U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in 14 months in March but underlying inflation remained benign against a backdrop of slowing global economic growth.

Minutes from a March 19-20 meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers show they saw the U.S. economy weathering a global slowdown without a recession in the new few years.

Policymakers debated how to manage the Fed’s massive holding of bonds and agreed to be patient about any changes to its interest rate policy.

MSCI’s all-country equity index gained 0.13%, while the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading shares closed up 0.17%.

Reckitt Benckiser shares fell 6.5% to weigh on Britain’s blue chip FTSE 100 index after the U.S. Justice Department accused Indivior Plc, a former RB unit, of illegally boosting prescriptions for its blockbuster opioid addiction treatment. Indivior shares tumbled 71.6%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.93 points, or 0.1%, to 26,124.65. The S&P 500 gained 4.8 points, or 0.17%, to 2,883 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.13 points, or 0.37%, to 7,938.41.

Industrial stocks were down 0.18%, as Boeing Co shares continued to weigh after the company on Tuesday reported zero new orders for its 737 MAX jet following a worldwide grounding of the aircraft in March. Boeing’s shares fell 1.1%, keeping the Dow Industrials in the red.

U.S. Treasury yields slipped, weighed down by the tepid U.S. inflation data for March, which reinforced expectations that the Fed would hold rates steady or possibly cut them by the end of the year. “There is a persistent trend of inflation underperformance that may soon become problematic for the Fed,” said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets in New York. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 6/32 in price to push its yield lower to 2.4774%.

The euro recouped earlier losses after Draghi underscored the risks facing the euro zone economy. The dollar index fell 0.08%, with the euro up 0.11% to $1.1273. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.19% versus the greenback at 110.95 per dollar.

Oil prices rallied more than 1 percent after U.S. data showing a deep drawdown in gasoline stocks overshadowed crude inventories rising to 17-month highs, and as sanctions and blackouts in Venezuela helped tighten global supplies.

International benchmark Brent futures settled up $1.12 to $71.73 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures climbed 63 cents to settle at $64.61 a barrel.

Please include the STOCK CODE in your post out of respect for your fellow traders, or use the OT (off topic) tag for non-stock related content.

Better stock up on the bacon.