Afternoon trading December 14

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1, @Patterns and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Australian shares punched to their highest level since early August after the prospect of several US rate cuts next year carried the Dow to a record close.

The ASX 200 surged 114 points to 1.57% as bond yields plunged here and in the US. Treasury yields in the US fell to levels last seen in June after the Federal Reserve left benchmark rates on hold and flagged up to three rate cuts next year.

The yield on 10-year Australian government bonds dived 18 basis points to the lowest in almost three months as financial markets priced in the possibility of a rate cut here as soon as June. The market was this morning pricing in two cuts before the end of next year.

Gold miners, tech and property stocks led the charge on the ASX. The gold sub-sector rallied 5.7% as a cratering greenback boosted alternative stores of wealth, including precious metals. Borrowing-dependent real estate investment trusts gained 4%. The tech sector advanced 2.8%.

The market took in its stride news that the unemployment rate ticked up to an 18-month high of 3.86% last month from 3.75% in October. The increase in joblessness came as record participation offset a 61,000 increase in employment.

Overnight, the Dow rose 1.4% to its first-ever close above 37,000. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.37%.


Personal trading: Good day to buy high and sell higher. Challenging day to look to buy cheap, my usual approach. Snagged just one entry - THR at 2.4c. One of these years I'll learn how to trade strong up-days.