Thanks Brit and morning regulars. Half-time round-up: Hopes for...

Thanks Brit and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

Hopes for a year-end Santa rally rose as the share market surged to a two-month high this morning and US equity futures hinted at more gains tonight.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was trading 89 points or 1.7% ahead at 5353 after earlier touching 5374, the index's highest level since August 19. A broad rally lifted all sectors, with the best returns coming in metals & mining +2.1%, consumer discretionary +2.1%, property trusts +2% and consumer staples +2%. The gains came after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted overnight that the central bank will introduce fresh stimulus measures in December.

“Mario Draghi and his elves at the ECB practically confirmed there will be an early Christmas present,” Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG, told Bloomberg. “In short, all options are on the table for the ECB, also meaning the Bank of Japan and the Fed are now live events as well.”

Dow futures were recently up 38 points or 0.22% on the back of well-received earnings updates this morning from Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft. Nasdaq futures were up 20.5 points or 0.45%. While China's Shanghai Composite eased 0.05%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.22% and Japan's Nikkei 2.19%.

Crude oil futures rose 19 cents this morning to US$45.57 a barrel. Spot gold was $2.10 firmer at US$1,168.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 72.32 US cents.


Boom. Nice clean break, not a hint of hesitation in this rally. Big after-market gains in Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft this morning should give Wall Street a good platform for tonight. Trading: dipped my toe in ZIP, CLQ and ERJ.