The share market has staged its biggest rally in three months amid signs of progress in resolving an impasse over raising the debt ceiling in Washington.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 87 points or 1.7% higher at 5234 and on track to end a volatile week in positive territory. The gain was the most substantial since the index surged 124 points on July 2.
As in the US, the financials sector led the advance, rising 2.1%. Other significant sectors included industrials +2%, the Small Ordinaries +1.9%, materials +1.7% and property trusts +1.6%.
The advances came after a 90-minute meeting between President Obama and Republican leaders this morning ended without a debt-ceiling deal but with a pledge to keep talking.
"After a discussion about potential paths forward, no specific determination was made," said a White House statement quoted on Reuters. "The president looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle."
A Republican spokesman later said he hoped a deal could be finalised by tomorrow. Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee, told Reuters that the two sides would spend the next day "defining parameters to see if we can make progress". Read more here.
US futures edged higher following the S&P 500's largest advance since January. Dow futures were recently up 13 points or 0.1%.
China's Shanghai Composite put on 1.11%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.46% and Japan's Nikkei 1.33%.
Crude oil futures eased 23 cents this morning to US$102.69 a barrel. Spot gold firmed $2.60 to US$1,288.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 94.73 US cents.
Good to see the index hold its initial gains. Too often these big gap opens end in fades and frustration. Also good to see the IPO market is cranking into action after a long slumber. The market constantly needs fresh blood to replace all the burnouts and taken over. As a trader focussed on short-term value opportunities, I never find much when market sentiment is running as hot as it did this morning. Used the rally as a "Get out of jail" card in SBM from yesterday. Traded the first bounce in CRZ pretty well but missed the second. Small position taken in MEL at horizontal support.
