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

So a few quick comments about some stuff that’s been brewing for a while now, just some general comments, not singling anyone out.

Yes there is obviously a certain amount of argy-bargy that is being allowed, but let's not forget that this thread is indeed for Daytrading, this ain't fight club. Let’s try and leave our ego’s, vendettas and personal squabbles at the door. Don’t care what “side” you are on, play the ball not the man as the saying goes. If you disagree with a call, point out what you think are the flaws in the call rather than attacking the person. Likewise if someone disagrees with your call, everyone is entitled to their opinions and let's not bite peoples heads off for posing questions. You make your case, they make theirs, and the markets alone will decide who is right. There’s no excuse for personal attacks in any form, from any poster. In the end, it’s up to each of us to be responsible for our own actions.

Whatever you post, everyone that reads the thread has to scroll through a read whatever you’ve said, not just the person you are talking to. And if you think a post is unacceptable and breaches HC’s guidelines, please report it. If a post is not reported, there is very little chance it will be seen and removed.

Anyway that's my bit, enough grumpy grumps brow furrowing from me, onto the market report.

ASX Market Report

The ASX 200 was up 26.1 points or 0.41% after a day of much promise petered out into the afternoon. The benchmark index closed at 6358.8.

Australian GDP came in slightly under expectations for the March quarter which grew by 0.4%, and came in bang on expectations after growing by 1.8% cent over the last 12 months.

The volatile IT sector was the top gainer after it pared back most of the previous days losses, rising 2.08%. Afterpay (APT) led the sector rising 7.08% to $23.90 after announcing that a year after launching in the United States, it had reached 1.5 million US customers and had signed up 3,300 US retailers. Wisetec (WTC) rose 4.19% 24.85

The financial sector also saw strong gains, rising 1.19%. The big four banks helped lead the index higher after Westpac (WBC) shares gained 1.36% to $27.62, Commonwealth Bank (CBA) gained 1.24% to $79.39, ANZ was up 0.9% to $28.01 and NAB rose 0.79% to $26.64.

Shares in Vocus Group (VOC) fell 17.69% to $3.77 after the Swedish private equity firm EQT Infrastructure walked away from its $5.25 per share takeover offer after a period of due diligence.

Gold miners had a surprisingly poor day following a more risk on stance in the markets, which saw the ASX All Ords gold index dive 3.08%. Chief amongst the declines were Evolution Mining (EVN), Regis Resources (RRL), Bellevue Gold (BGL), and Saracen (SAR), all dropping over 3%. But Dacian Gold (DCN) endured the worst day by far day after if fell plummeted 67.51% to 51.5c, after the company announced its production at its Mount Morgans gold mine would be considerably lower than forecast. It was downgraded in guidance to between 36,000 and 38,000 ounces costing between $1,500 and $1,600 an ounce, which was compared to previous guidance of up to 55,000 ounces costing a maximum of $1,150 per ounce.

At 7am AEST the Aussie dollar was buying 0.6971 USD, 0.5492 GBP, 0.6211 EUR, 75.55 JPY, and 1.0524 NZD.

The ASX 200 futures were pointing towards a flat open with a 6 point drop.

Global Markets Report

n Asia, things were mostly positive although not overwhelmingly so. The Shanghai Composite was down ever so slightly by 0.03%, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5%, and Korea’s Kospi Rose 0.1%.

European markets were again mostly positive, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 rising 0.31%. The DAX and the FTSE 100 were both flat, rising 0.08% each.

The U.S. equity markets continued to be buoyed by the prospects of rate cuts later in the year, as well as hopes that that the U.S. can come to an agreement to avoid tariffs coming into play at the start of next week. The Dow was up 207/39 points or 0.82% to 25,539.59, the S&P 500 rose 22.88points or 0.82% to 2,826.15, and the Nasdaq rose 48.36 or 0.64% to 7,575.48.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against six major currencies, was up 0.23% to 97.35.

WTI crude oil prices slid 3.337% to $51.68 a barrel, Brent crude future were down 2.2% to $60.63

The spot gold price continued it’s rise, which was up 0.38% to %1,330.30.

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.

Nice win for QLD, sorry NSW supporters. Was a great game though.