Thanks @Quantum Torus@Ravgnome (back on deck with his much loved scans - even though there are too many new 52 week lows) and AM Loungers. We're all here to make money so let's all try to do it in a mature and friendly way.
Mining and health care stocks lifted the Australian share market higher, but the gains did little to recover the significant losses inflicted during Monday's trading.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 23.4 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 5575.9 at 1615 AEDT on Tuesday, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 0.42 per cent.
CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy says the local market is treading water after the depths reached on Monday as Brexit chaos rages in the UK and US volatility persists.
"The reality is a single headline or a single tweet could change the direction of the markets very sharply and investors are very aware of that," he told AAP.
"It's a tough call for local investors as to where they should be going."
Major miners lifted the materials sector higher on stronger industrial metal and commodity prices, with BHP climbing 1.4 per cent to $31.72 and Rio Tinto rising 1.3 per cent to $72.88.
South32 and Fortescue Metals were 1.6 and 1.5 per cent higher respectively, while BlueScope lost 0.4 per cent.
Health care shares were the strongest performer on the indices with benchmark CSL up 2.1 per cent to $180.38, while ResMed was particularly buoyant, rising 3.7 per cent to $15.60.
The financial sector was choppy throughout trading and closed flat, but the big four lenders all finished in the black.
Westpac had the strongest gains, up 0.8 per cent to $25.06, and Commonwealth the weakest, up 0.2 per cent to $68.43.
Macquarie was 0.1 per cent lower, while QBE Insurance tumbled more than four per cent to $9.96 after flagging a three-year, $130 million cost-cutting program, as well as greater reinsurance for extreme and catastrophic events.
QBE says its operational efficiency program will incur around $95 million of restructuring costs over 2019-20 and an expense ratio of around 14 per cent by 2021.
Energy stocks reversed earlier gains following subdued oil prices, with Woodside, Oil Search, Santos, and Caltex posting losses of between 0.6 and 1.1 per cent.
New Hope and Whitehaven, however, jumped 7.9 and 3.6 per cent respectively on stronger coal prices.
Cimic Group rose 4.7 per cent to $41.65, lifting the industrial sector higher, after being selected to deliver a capital waterworks program in Tasmania.
The Australian dollar edged lower as the greenback firmed against the pound, buying 72.04 US cents at 1630 AEDT, down from 72.17 US cents on Monday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 23.4 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 5575.9
* The All Ordinaries was up 23.7 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 5651.2
* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was up 39 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5591
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 72.04 US cents, from 72.17 US cents on Monday
* 81.48 Japanese yen, from 81.17
* 63.38 euro cents, from 63.13
* 57.26 British pence, from 56.61
* 104.72 NZ cents, from 104.72
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1246.68 per fine ounce, from $US1249.15 on Monday.
The S&P 500 gave up most gains and Dow Industrials turned lower on Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s threat to shut down the government over funding for a border wall undid the boost to markets from optimism over China-U.S. trade talks.
Trump openly fought with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi at an Oval Office meeting about funding for the wall, throwing into doubt whether a deal was possible ahead of a deadline later this month.
That accelerated the downward trend in equity markets after a strong start to the session on news that U.S. and Chinese officials had discussed a road map for the next stage of trade talks, which Trump called “very productive.”
Traders said the market’s move was another example of the recent swings. On Monday, the S&P bounced off an eight-month low to end higher, with strategists saying trading algorithms kicked in with buy signals at the lows of the day.
“We’re in a period of a lot of intra-day volatility where market participants are trying to figure out where things should be properly valued and you’re going to get a lot of back and forth,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Brown said the outlook for next year was being clouded by “period of extraordinary uncertainty,” leaving investors trying to balance stock valuations with headlines such as political news in Washington, Brexit, interest rates and trade.
“The whole idea of a risk-on is not generally going to follow through.”
Adding to nerves was a report that some lawmakers in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party believed they had sufficient numbers to mount a no-confidence vote to her leadership.
The losses were led by the S&P financial sector’s, 0.87-percent drop. The sector was up earlier as were the trade-sensitive industrials.
Industrials were down 0.57 percent, also hit by a Washington Post report saying Washington will condemn China over hacking and economic espionage.
Technology stocks, which helped power the market’s reversal Monday, were up 0.10 percent, having given up a large chunk of their gains.
At 1:19 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 41.78 points, or 0.17 percent, at 24,381.48. The S&P 500 was up 2.59 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,640.31 and the Nasdaq was up 22.15 points, or 0.32 percent, at 7,042.67.
The defensive utilities, real estate and consumer staples moved higher to lead the sectoral gainers.
Dow component Pfizer Inc fell 1.31 percent after a JP Morgan downgrade. Apple Inc, off 0.74 percent, weighed the most on the S&P and the Nasdaq.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.09-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Decliners outnumbered advancers for a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and 18 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 22 new highs and 158 new lows.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
A healthy midweek brekkie - an Acai Fruit and Muesli Bowl with your heartstarter Coffee.
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Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.
