Shares neared 5900 for the first time in almost two years as the local market again shrugged off a mixed close on Wall Street.
At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 17 points or 0.3% higher at 5891 and within reach of a third straight gain. The index peaked just shy of 5900 at 5899.2 this morning with energy +1%, metals & mining +0.4% and consumer staples +0.6% leading the charge. Gains were tempered by declines in gold stocks -0.3% and industrials -0.4%.
Wall Street closed mixed overnight, with a 0.11% rise on the S&P 500 offset by a 0.2% decline in the Dow after Britain took the first formal step toward exiting the European Union and energy stocks caught an updraft from US crude stocks. Dow futures were recently ahead 23 points or 0.11%. Analysts pointed to solid economic data and improving earnings as offering support for share valuations after the failure of the Trump administration to pass a revised health bill last week.
"The policy risk has increased ... but economic data still remains solid and therefore earnings should be good," Walter Todd, chief investment officer of Greenwood Capital in the US, told Fairfax. "Absent some revelation on the policy front, I think (earnings are) the next catalyst for the market."
A downbeat session in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite fall back 0.36%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.35% and Japan's Nikkei 0.26%.
Crude oil futures eased six cents or 0.12% this morning to US$49.45 a barrel. Gold futures shed $3.90 or 0.31% to US$1,252.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 76.7 US cents.
Pause around these levels to digest the week's gains? Market stalled just under obvious round-number resistance. Doesn't look like a major technical hurdle, but we've come almost 150 points in a week, so a breather seems likely. Trading: slow as mud. Wangled a trade out of WGL, but have found this week pretty turgid.
