Good Morning Fellow Traders, Thanks @Ravgnome - ever reliable...

Good Morning Fellow Traders,

Thanks @Ravgnome - ever reliable and much appreciated. Shout out to those who are on holidays. Hard not to have a peak at the markets even then. Kind thoughts to those who are doing it tough - whether it be on the market or just life in general.

Australian shares soared on Thursday, the first session for local stocks since the Christmas holiday, lifting on the back of a historic night on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 103.4 points, or 1.9 per cent to 5597.2 points, its best performance since November 2016, as it followed a strong session in the US.

The S&P 500 narrowly avoided tipping into a bear market, surging around 5 per cent.

"Consumer shares led the rally, sparked by Amazon's statement confirming record-breaking customer orders over the holiday season," NAB credit analyst Andrew Jones said on Thursday in a note to clients.

The consumer rally on Wall Street was echoed by Australian retail stocks, which were among the market's best performers on Thursday. The Australian Retailers Association also said on Wednesday it was expecting a 3.1 per cent increase in post-Christmas sales in 2018.

Harvey Norman rose 2.6 per cent to $3.19, JB Hi-Fi advanced 1.6 per cent to $22.15, Afterpay Touch traded 6.1 per cent higher at $12.42 and Myer climbed 2.5 per cent to 41¢.

Bellamy's Australia closed 6.5 per cent higher at $7.25 and A2 Milk lifted 3.4 per cent to $10.40.

Consumer staple stocks were also among the market leaders on Thursday. Woolworths closed 1.8 per cent higher at $29.30 and Coles rose 0.6 per cent to $11.77.

The price of oil soared on Wednesday, with Brent crude lifting 8.8 per cent, its biggest gain since 2016. The price rise was driven in part by positive market sentiment and comments from Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak who said he saw a more stable and balanced oil market, indicating OPEC and its allies would continue to support the a rise in oil prices.

The energy sector was the best performing on Thursday as oil-exposed stocks lifted on the back of the price rise.
BHP Group advanced 1.9 per cent to $34.15, Woodside Petroleum lifted 4.2 per cent to $31.06, Origin Energy climbed 4.4 per cent to $6.40, Oil Search was 3.1 per cent higher at $7.10 and Beach Energy rose 1.1 per cent to $1.33.

The major banks closed slightly higher on Thursday. Commonwealth Bank closed 2.5 per cent higher at $70.33, Westpac climbed 1.4 per cent to $24.19, NAB lifted 1.9 per cent to $23.34 and ANZ closed at $23.70, up 1.5 per cent.

Healthcare giant CSL also closed higher, lifting 3.4 per cent to $184.29.

Real estate and infrastructure stocks were among those trading in the red on Thursday although their losses were only small.


US stocks have fallen broadly, giving back a chunk of the previous day's big rally, as fresh concerns arose about the US economy with a measure of consumer confidence dropping by the most in more than three years.

The pullback on the heels of Wednesday's huge advance, which featured the Dow Jones Industrial Average's first-ever 1,000 point daily surge, was led by the technology stalwarts that have also been under some of the greatest selling pressure since late (northern) summer.

Apple, Amazon.com and Alphabet all fell by 2 per cent or more on Thursday.

In a sign some consumers are getting nervous about the economy amid volatile stock markets and the partial shutdown of the US government, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped to a five-month low in December and came in weaker than even the lowest economists' estimate in a Reuters poll.

"While retail sales have been very strong, consumer confidence has ticked down here and that could continue unless there is progress made on trade, in the US budget battle and certainly central bank's policy," said Bryan Reilly, a managing director in the Boston office of CIBC Private Wealth Management.

A drop in oil prices led to a 2.58 per cent slide in the energy index, while technology, consumer discretionary and communication services sectors tumbled more than 2 per cent.

Barely seven stocks on the S&P 500 were higher, while all the 30 components of the Dow were in the red.

At 11.16am local time on Thursday, the Dow was down 410.42 points, or 1.79 per cent, at 22,468.03, the S&P 500 was down 44.64 points, or 1.81 per cent, at 2,423.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 135.28 points, or 2.06 per cent, at 6,419.07.

The three indexes are down more than 12 per cent for the month.

"It's been a very difficult environment. The markets haven't really been trading on fundamentals very much. But with low liquidity and trading models responsible for the majority of trades in recent days, it might not be until the new year till you see greater stability," said Reilly.

President Donald Trump said he was prepared to wait as long as it takes to get funding for his US-Mexico border wall, a demand that has triggered a partial shutdown of the federal government that is now in its fifth day.
Separately, Reuters reported Trump is considering an executive order in the new year that would bar US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE.

This comes as China and the US plan face-to-face consultations to resolve their trade dispute, which has rocked stock markets, along with concerns over slowing economic growth and rising interest rates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 4.52 to 1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 2.65 to 1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded three new highs and 132 new lows.

Source: The Age and 9business

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