Thanks @ttward and @Ravgnome. It was nice to be welcomed back here. Let's go.
The Australian share market has finished in the red, while the local currency strengthened on bets the Reserve Bank may cut interest rates next week.
By the close of trade, the ASX 200 had lost 13 points (or 0.2 per cent) to 5,952, after trading around the flatline for much of its day.
The broader All Ordinaries index closed 0.1 per cent lower at 6,135 points.
Beaten-down stocks like Qantas (+6.4pc), Flight Centre (+5.8pc) and Webjet (+6.6pc) were in high demand today.
Shares in travel companies surged on reports that a travel bubble between New Zealand and parts of Australia could be possible by the end of this year, if COVID-19 infections continue to decline.
Retail owner Premier Investments (+6.3pc), Afterpay (+5.1pc), and gold miner Resolute Mining (+5pc) were also strong performers.
But the strongest gains were from a little-known company called Piedmont Lithium.
Happy pic for PLL holders
Its share price skyrocketed by 83.3 per cent to 27.5 cents, which brings its market value to $125 million.
The company said it had signed a five-year deal with Tesla to supply high-purity lithium or mineral to the electric car maker.
On the flip side, A2 Milk (-11.4pc), Crown Resorts (-4.2pc), Blackmores (-3.9pc) and TPG Telecom (-2.6pc) suffered the heaviest losses.
A2 Milk warned its Australian and New Zealand revenue would be materially below expectations for the first-half of the financial year.
It blamed Victoria's strict lockdowns for its plummeting "daigou" trade, which led to the earnings downgrade.
"Daigou" is essentially a personal shopper who buys local products (for example, infant formula) and posts them back to customers in mainland China.
The major banks were the biggest drag on the market, including Commonwealth Bank (-1pc), Westpac (-1.1pc), ANZ (-1.3pc) and NAB (-0.8pc).
However, those losses were relatively small compared to the surge in the banks' share price on Friday, when the Federal Government announced it would scrap responsible lending laws.
Shares in the mining giants BHP (-1.3pc), Rio Tinto (-1.5pc) and Fortescue Metals (-0.3pc) also weighed on the market.
This week could be volatile for investors as US President Donald Trump and former vice-president Joe Biden prepare to square off in their first pre-election debate on Tuesday (local time).
It could be an important risk event for markets", said Stephen Innes, AxiCorp's chief global market strategist.
"Prediction markets are pricing in a Biden presidency (57pc), echoed in the latest polls, where he holds a 7 percentage point average lead," Mr Innes wrote in a research note.
"Biden's lacking in the debate could undermine risk sentiment (lower equities, stronger US dollar) via two primary channels."
Despite the recent volatility, the Australian market managed to pull off a 1.7 per cent gain last week.
It came after Friday's tech rebound, which resulted in strong gains for the Nasdaq (+2.3pc), S&P 500 (+1.6pc) and Dow Jones (+1.3pc) on Friday.
Wall Street rallied to close sharply higher on Monday as investors sought bargains among sectors hardest-hit by the coronavirus recession, now limping toward its ninth month.
All three major U.S. stock indexes made solid gains on the heels of the longest weekly losing streak in over a year for both the S&P 500 and the Dow.
But energy .SPNY, financials .SPSY, and industrials .SPLRCI, which suffered the most bruising blows from the economic shutdown, enjoyed among the largest percentage gains among major S&P 500 sectors.
“Today’s market is being led by energy and financials, but it’s a very well-balanced market,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York. “Every sector is participating in this rally.”
However, even with Monday’s jump, the indexes are only days away from closing the books on their first monthly declines since March, when markets were sent into a freefall by pandemic-related lockdowns.
“Given that it’s been a weak month, some rebalancing may be occurring,” Ghriskey added. “The rebalancing would move allocations to equities and some of that may be happening today.”
The third quarter also draws to a close on Wednesday, and despite September’s expected loss, the S&P and the Nasdaq are on course for their best two-quarter winning streaks since 2009 and 2000, respectively.
Market leaders Apple Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O once again gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
The lack of a COVID-19 vaccine and an additional fiscal stimulus package from Washington have weighed on the markets in recent sessions.
But U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an MSNBC interview that stimulus talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are due to continue on Monday, suggesting a possible progress to end the stalemate.
“I’m not sure there’s any chance of it happening before the end of the year but it’s in the news and giving some traders some confidence,” said Ghriskey.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 414.67 points, or 1.53%, to 27,588.63, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 53.78 points, or 1.63%, to 3,352.24 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 204.81 points, or 1.88%, to 11,118.38.
