A fourth day of gains has the Australian share market within reach of a five-and-a-half-year closing high following gains in the banks and defensive sectors.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 24 points or 0.4% ahead at 5478, just below the 2014 closing high of 5480 set on April 10. Weakness in gold -2.5% and metals & mining -0.3% was offset by gains in energy +1.1%, consumer staples +0.9%, industrials +0.6%, financials +0.5% and health +0.4%.
The rally followed a fifth straight advance on Wall Street overnight, the market's best run since October.
"US markets were optimistic [overnight] on a solid gain in US leading indicators and signs that earnings are improving," Barclays analysts said in a note to clients quoted on Reuters.
Asian markets were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.25%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.45% and Japan's Nikkei added 0.3%. Dow futures were recently off four points or less than 0.1%.
Crude oil futures retreated 14 cents this morning to US$104.23 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.90 weaker at US$1,286.40 an ounce. The dollar was buying 93.52 US cents.
Market looks keen to grind through the old 2014 high if Wall Street remains optimistic and tomorrow's Chinese report does not expose any significant deterioration in factory activity. Wish it would translate into a bit more market excitement. I've been floundering for trades these last few sessions. Took ABP this morning, which is the kind of marginal trade I would ignore if I recognised anything more obvious.
