Shares neared a five-month high this morning after a jump in full-time jobs propelled the dollar towards record levels.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 2 points or 0.05% at 4689 as strength in resource stocks once again off-set modest falls among financial and defensive sectors.
The market turned positive after the 11.30 am release of the monthly jobs report, which showed that the economy added 55,800 full-time jobs last month. The unemployment rate was steady at 5.1% but analysts said the increase in jobs will add to pressure for interest rate rises.
"Jobs creation is far stronger than expected," Macquarie economist Ben Dinte told Fairfax. "The RBA is definitely wary of labour shortages developing in the economy."
The dollar jumped half a cent to a two-year high after the news and is currently buying 98.29 U.S. cents - a fraction of a cent from the all-time high of 98.48 US cents, recorded on July 16, 2008.
On the other side of the interest rate debate, house building slumped to an 18-month low last month. The AIG/HIA construction index fell 2.4 points to 40.8, well below the 50 benchmark that separates growth from contraction.
Asian markets were modestly higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.06% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.51%. Shanghai was closed for the last day of a four-day public holiday. Dow futures were recently at +1.
Crude oil futures edged 11 cents higher this morning to $83.30 a barrel. The spot gold price eased $3.10 to $1,345.70 an ounce.
A solid morning here. Caught a bounce in TOL as it went ex-dividend and then a reversal in VOR. My trade of the week was the reversal in MBN from Tuesday. Sold most as it went parabolic today.
