Good Morning Fellow Traders,
Thanks @Trees, @Ravgnome (ever reliable and appreciated) and AM Loungers. Strangely quiet in the AM Lounge last night. Wasn't sure whether the apocalypse was upon us. If it wasn't for the restaurant pics and meal management hints 
it would have been very scant.
Exciting morning with the EPL comp with multiple simultaneous matches at the pointy end of the season. Good to see Huddersfield (with Aussie Aaron Mooy) safe from relegation. Sad for Swansea though who will bow out. Leicester crushed Arsenal 3-1.
The Australian share market has closed slightly higher as strong gains in oil stocks, following the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal, helped offset a heavy decline in Commonwealth Bank shares.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed 16.1 points, or 0.26 per cent higher, at 6,108 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 21.2 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 6,204.4 points.
Bell Direct market analyst Julia Lee said energy players benefited from US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and his vow to impose sanctions on the oil-rich nation.
Crude oil prices jumped to near 3-1/2-year highs on Wednesday on worries Mr Trump's decision would spark fresh tension in the Middle East and restrict global oil supplies.
Woodside Petroleum rose 39 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $32.35, Santos gained 20 cents, or 3.3 per cent, at $6.25 and Oil Search climbed 10 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $8.09.
The financial sector slid as Commonwealth Bank's share price dipped to $70.80 during the session - its lowest level since November 2016 - before closing $2.09, or 2.8 per cent, lower at $71.41.
Australia's largest listed company delivered a third-quarter cash profit of $2.35 billion, two per cent lower than the average of each of the earlier quarters.
CBA also revealed the number of home loan repayments more than 90 days late rose in the March quarter, and the bank attracted more unwanted headlines when it announced it will pay $25 million to settle its legal stoush with the corporate regulator over bank bill swap rates.
"Commonwealth Bank is the one dragging down the financials space and we saw it hit a multi-year low during the session," Ms Lee said.
"If it hits below $70 a share we could see some significant support levels broken.
"The bank's quarterly update today really highlighted the impact rising compliance and regulatory costs are having on its cash earnings."
The other three major lenders were mixed, with Westpac and ANZ up 0.1 per cent to $29.75 and $27.95 respectively, while National Australia Bank was down 0.8 per cent to $28.72.
In other company news, explosives and fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot dropped 20 cents, or 5.3 per cent, to $3.55 after its first-half profit fell 95 per cent to $7.6 million, hit by drier weather and a $236 million impairment.
Plumbing group Reece came out of a trading halt having completed the institutional part of an equity raising to fund its expansion into the United Sates.
Shares in Reece jumped $1.5704, or 14.8 per cent, to $12.20.
Meanwhile, concerns around consumer spending following weaker-than-expected retail spending data on Tuesday and a higher US dollar have pushed the local currency well under 75 US cents to its lowest level since mid-2017.
At 1630 AEST, the Australian dollar was worth 74.29 US cents, from 75.10 US cents on Tuesday.
ON THE ASX AT THE CLOSE:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 16.1 points, or 0.26 per cent at 6,108 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 21.2 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 6,204.4 points
* The SPI200 futures contract was up 11 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 6,088 points
* National turnover was 2.9 billion securities traded worth $6.4 billion.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 74.18 US cents, from 75.10 on Tuesday
* 81.36 Japanese yen, from 82.84 yen
* 62.71 euro cents, from 63.00 euro cents
* 54.94 British pence, from 55.32 pence
* 106.68 NZ cents, from 106.95 cents
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,308.01 per fine ounce, from $US1,313.36 per fine ounce on Tuesday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
* CGS 5.75 per cent May 2021, 2.1671pct, from 2.1526pct, on Tuesday
* CGS 2.25pct May 2028, 2.7802pct, from 2.740pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* June 2018 10-year bond futures contract was 97.2 (implying a yield of 2.8pct), from 97.240 (2.760pct) on Tuesday
* June 2018 3-year bond futures contract was 97.79 (2.21pct), from 97.800 (2.200pct)
(*Bond market closes taken at 1630 AEST previous local session; currency closes taken from 1700 AEST previous local session)
Wall Street rallied on Wednesday as surging oil prices boosted energy stocks .SPNY following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision the previous day to quit a nuclear deal with Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 182.88 points, or 0.75 percent, to 24,543.09, the S&P 500
.SPX gained 25.88 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,697.8 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 73.00 points, or 1 percent, to 7,339.91.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
A simple breakfast of Scrambled Egg on Sourdough Toast and Fruit Smoothies this morning. If you're good, we'll fire up the coffee machine.
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Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.
