Half-time round-up:The Australian share market is on track for...

Half-time round-up:

The Australian share market is on track for its highest close since late October after advancing for the fourth morning this week.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 7 points or 0.15% at 4769 after modest gains for cyclical stocks. Consumer discretionary stocks, +1.2%, were the pick of the sectors after a moderate rise in retail sales last month. Sales ticked up 0.3% despite consecutive interest rate rises, matching economists' expectations.

Other sectors to advance included materials +0.7%, mining +0.5%, gold +0.5% and energy +0.4%. Defensive stocks such as health, consumer staples and utilities suffered minor losses.

In other local economic news this morning, the service sector expanded for a second month in November and jobs grew for the first time in 17 months, according to an industry survey. The AiG-CBA performance of services index (PSI) slipped 2.3 points in November, but at 52.5 was above the 50 level that indicates growth. The index of employment rose 1.9 points to 50.5.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei surged 2.3% higher as the yen weakened against the US dollar, Shanghai was off 0.34% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.96% Dow futures were at +16.

Gold hit yet another new high this morning. The spot price was recently trading at $1,222.50 an ounce, up about $8 since 8.15 am. Crude oil futures also rallied, up 18 cents to $76.85 a barrel.


Another morning of moderate achievement here. Bought CRG as it broke up out of an ascending wedge. Struggled to find trades this past month. Volatility and volumes seem to have fallen away - feels like the Xmas doldrums have set in early this year.