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

ASX Market Report

The Australian share market posted gains for a sixth consecutive day, setting another 11-year high and carrying on the post-election bounce.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 10.6 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 6,510.7 points on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 13.7 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 6,598.1.

With the financial sector flat and Fortescue Metals trading ex-dividend, it was the energy and consumer discretionary sectors' turn to keep the momentum going.

Energy shares lead the charge and were up 0.67 per cent, with Woodside Petroleum (WPL) gaining one per cent to $37.40. Coal miner New Hope (NHC) was up 4.9 per cent to $2.78, Whitehaven (WHC) was up 2.6 per cent to $4.30 and investment company W.H. Soul Pattinson (SOL), which has exposure to the coal industry, was up 2.1 per cent to $23.20.

Bingo Industries (BIN) was the top gainer in the index after it briefly touched the 2 dollar mark, before closing up 7.9 per cent for the day at $1.99.

The XGD gold index was weakest sector of the market in an otherwise steady day.

Consumer discretionary shares were up 0.76 per cent, with Wesfarmers (WES) gaining 1.3 per cent to $37.12.

Among miners, BHP gained 0.3 per cent to $38.07 while ex-dividend Fortescue (FMG) was down 1.5 per cent to $8.27.

The beaten down lithium producers Galaxy Resources (GXY), Pilbara Minerals (PLS), and Orecobre (ORE) all saw solid gains over 5 per cent for the day.

Construction companies posted gains after an ABS report showed construction work reaching record high levels in NSW, South Australia and Tasmania in the 12 months to March.

The financial sector was flat after Australia's prudential regulator warned financial institutions should expect "increased supervisory scrutiny" after finding that their self-assessment procedures, surrounding risks such as culture and accountability, were not up to scratch.

The big four banks were mixed, with Westpac (WBC) up 1.1 per cent to $28.81 while Commonwealth Bank (CBA) closed slightly up, gaining 3 cents for the day to close right on $79. NAB meanwhile fell 0.19 per cent to $26.15 and ANZ was down 0.18 per cent to $28.38, but all closed near their session highs.

Bank of Queensland (BOQ) shares were down 0.11 per cent to $9.18 after the regional lender's chairman said it hadn't performed as well as hoped.

Lynas Corp (LYC) was up 7.1 per cent to $2.43, after shares in the rare earths miner resumed trading after it clarified some of the ore reserve figures in its investor day presentation.

The Australian Agricultural Company (AAC) was up 2.24 per cent to $1.14 after chief executive Hugh Killen said the loss of 43,000 cattle to flooding in Queensland in February wouldn't affect its ability to meet supply obligations or the rollout of its premium branded beef strategy.

Healthscope (HSO) shares could be delisted as soon as Friday after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the private hospital operator's $4.4 billion acquisition by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management.

At 7am AEST the Aussie dollar was buying .6882 USD, .75.91 JPY, .6169 EUR, .5434 GPB, and .1.059 NZD.

Global Markets Report

Global markets were weaker on wednesday after the MSCI’s worldwide gauge of stock performance in 47 countries across the globe shed 0.28%. The Dow shed 100.72 points, or 0.39%, The S&P 500 was down 8.09 points or 0.28%, and the Nasdaq down 34.88 points or 0.45%.

The Stoxx 600 measurement of European shares were softer, being down 0.07% by real estate and retail shares..

In Asia, the Nikkei, Hang Sseng and Kospi were all slightly firmer, gaining bwtween 0.5% and 0.18%, whereas Shanghai Composite was the black mark on Asia dropping 0.49%.

Relief over Washington’s postponement of restrictions against China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd faded, after reports that the White House is considering further sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision.

The markets are still expecting some kind of resolution to the trade war, but this saga continues to shine doubts over that likelihood.

The US Fed Reserve released their minutes from the last policy meeting, but showed no surprises against the backdrop of potentially slowing growth in the face of the increased tariffs between the United States and China. “It’s kind of like a doctor -- the first thing you do is do no harm,” Michael Kushma, chief investment officer of global fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said after the minutes came out. “So if you don’t know exactly what to do, don’t do anything. Don’t give medicine if you don’t know what the implications will be. So I think its easy for them to justify doing nothing for an extended period of time absent some major change in fiscal policy, trade policy.”

In commodities, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.71 to settle at $61.42 per barrel after American Petroleum Institute data showed that U.S. crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week. Oil was also pressured after Saudi Arabia reiterated that it would aim to keep the market balanced and try to reduce tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures lost $1.19 to settle at $70.99 per barrel.

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Needing a coffee even if only to defrost the fingertips now that winter is approaching.