Thanks Brit and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
The share market shook off early losses to trade slightly ahead at the halfway mark as traders held off making big bets ahead of tonight's policy update from the US Federal Reserve.
At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 10 points or 0.2% higher at 5122 after earlier extending yesterday's 74-point plunge by as much as 23 points. Gains in IT +1.2%, financials +0.6% and property trusts +0.7% were largely offset by falls in metals & mining -1.3%, materials -0.9% and consumer staples -0.6%.
A two-week rally on global markets ran out of steam this week as a rebound in commodity prices faded and investors backed off ahead of tonight's economic update from the US.
“We’re waiting for US monetary policy, so it's difficult for investors to rush in and buy,” Chihiro Ohta, general manager of investment information at SMBC Nikko Securities in Japan, told
Bloomberg. “We need to see whether we’ll have one or two rate hikes this year, and whether the next one will come in June. How currencies move will also be important.”
A mixed morning in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite lift 0.36%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gain 0.42% and Japan's Nikkei dip 0.28%. Dow futures were recently up 22 points or 0.13%.
Crude oil futures bounced 53 cents 1.5% or this morning to US$36.87 a barrel. Gold futures strengthened 70 cents to US$1,231.70 an ounce. The dollar was buying 74.48 US cents.
Hum-drum session at the big end of the market. Everything on hold until Janet Yellen speaks tonight. Trading: PSF was the one that got away - held out for a cent lower entry and missed the rebound. Still broadly happy with the morning's work - traded PLP three times for two wins and a brokerage, FAR once for three pips.
