Thanks @Ravgnome and AM Loungers. Looking for someone to take over the Aftermarket Lounge gig unless @Quantum Torus can be persuaded to return.
The Australian share market has closed at an eight-week high, thanks to growing optimism about the US-China trade negotiations and the continued surge in oil prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 55.9 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 5,778.3 at 1615 AEDT on Wednesday.
The broader All Ordinaries was up 55.1 points, or 0.95 per cent, at 5,838.4.
Share markets throughout the Asia-Pacific are buoyant on hopes the United States and China will strike a deal to end a trade war.
The Australian market also got a boost from energy stocks with the sector up 1.94 per cent, after oil prices rose 2.5 per cent in offshore trade.
Oil Search was up 2.6 per cent, Woodside Petroleum up 2.25 per cent, while Santos, Origin, and Soul Pattinson recorded gains of more than one per cent by the close of trade.
Pepperstone Group head of research Chris Weston says the energy sector is where investors want to be if they want to outperform the market.
"The Saudi's have done a remarkable job in balancing the market, or trying to stabilise the market by cutting back on exports and they''re likely to do it again through January," he said.
Share price gains have been broad based, which Mr Weston said was due to recent fears about the global economy easing somewhat, especially in US-China relations.
"Donald Trump came out today and said he wants to see a deal because he knows it will support markets," he said
The tech sector was up thanks to a 4.25 per cent gain for Link, Afterpay Touch rose 3.2 per cent to $13.60, and Wisetech was up 2.95 per cent to $18.50.
Biotech CSL surged 2.73 per cent ahead to $195.10 while Cochlear gains almost three per cent and ResMed lifted 1.5 per cent.
Investment manager Magellan continued its rampant rise with a 10.29 per cent gain to $27.00.
The big banks were mostly higher with the ANZ the best performer, up 1.33 per cent to $25.19, but the Commonwealth Bank was the only one to fall, down 0.2 per cent at $72.33.
Among the other financials, Navigator Global plunged into the red, down 27.55 per cent to $3.05 after announcing an expected drop in assets under management.
BHP was down 0.38 per cent to $34.30, Rio Tinto was 0.9 per cent higher at $80.02, while South32 gained 0.3 per cent to $3.40.
The Aussie dollar is higher, buying 71.55 US cents, though gains were capped by a 9.1 per cent fall in new building approvals in November.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says year on year approvals fell 32.8 per cent, adding to fears about the property market downturn.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 55.9 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 5,778.3
* The All Ordinaries was up 55.1 points, or 0.95 per cent, at 5,838.4
* At 1415 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was up 65 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 5728.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1615 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 71.55 US cents, from 71.29 on Tuesday
* 77.91 Japanese yen, from 77.67
* 62.43 euro cents, from 62.30
* 56.15 British pence, from 55.86
* 1.0591 NZ cents, from 1.0578
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1615 AEDT was $US1,281.95 per fine ounce, from $US1,282.90 on Tuesday.
Wall Street rallied for a fourth session on Wednesday, led by Apple, chipmakers and other trade-sensitive stocks, after signs of progress in trade talks between the United States and China.
The market saw a further slight boost after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes showing a range of policymakers said in December they could be patient about future interest rate increases and a few did not support the central bank’s rate increase that month.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is up about 10 percent from a 20-month low it touched around Christmas, boosted by hopes for a deal between the world's two largest economies, which eased some worries over the impact of the trade spat on global growth.
Market participants were also encouraged by strong U.S. jobs data and other recent indications the Federal Reserve is in no rush to raise interest rates.
China pledged to purchase “a substantial amount” of agricultural, energy and manufactured goods and services from the United States, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said, as talks wrapped up in Beijing.
The S&P technology index .SPLRCT rose 1.60 percent, leading other sectors.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) added 2.3 percent despite a Nikkei report that the company had reduced planned production for its three new iPhone models for the January-March quarter.
The company’s shares tumbled about 10 percent last week after it warned on holiday quarter sales and its suppliers, which largely include chipmakers, took another beating on Tuesday after Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) flagged weak chip demand.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX gained 2.60 percent. Chipmakers are among the U.S. multinationals with the highest revenue exposure to China.
“If you want to gauge how investors are viewing the trade talks, just walk tech, and semiconductors in particular,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors in Chicago.
Shares of Boeing Co (BA.N), which also has a large exposure to China, climbed 1.07 percent, with the S&P industrial index .SPLRCI gaining 0.93 percent.
The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, often referred to as an investor fear gauge, dropped half-a-point to a one-month low of 19.88.
At 2:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.7 percent at 23,954.59 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX had gained 0.68 percent to 2,591.9.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.15 percent to 6,975.98.
Financial stocks .SPSY rose 0.75 percent.
Several Fed policymakers said they could wait on any further interest rate hikes until they had a better handle on whether growing risks will undercut an otherwise solid U.S. economic outlook.
“A more stable Fed is going to lead to more stable markets over time,” said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
“Some of the sharp moves in the market were driven by the fact that Fed tightening is starting to have an impact on economic growth and financial conditions.”
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.26-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.82-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 23 new highs and 5 new lows.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
You won't miss the meat with this Caprese Avocado brekkie dish. Coffee as is popularly requested.
In consideration of others, PLEASE include the STOCK CODE in all your posts.
Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.
