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The ASX fell away into the weekend trading steadily lower throughout the day to close near its intra-day lows. Weakness in US futures and European futures and Asian indices didn’t help sentiment where “risk off” was the theme of the day. Only the safe haven of gold seemed to hold any meaningful attraction to investors.
The ASX 200 enjoyed a surprisingly strong Thursday, after a lacklustre start to the day. Aggressive buying pushed the market above 9100 for the first time before surrendering some of the day’s gains through the afternoon to close up +0.9%.
Fireworks on the ASX today with choppy trade early before softer than expected employment data lit the fuse and fuelled expectations of an RBA rate cut next month, propelling the index to an intraday high of 9109 and finishing firmly above the previous high close of 9019 set back in August.
The ASX 200 climbed back toward the 9,000 mark on Wednesday, with strength across the banks and miners lifting the market to a second straight day of gains, with gold notching yet another record high.
The ASX rallied to finish near the 9000 level and within reach of all-time highs – the majority of gains driven by the major banks and miners as upbeat sentiment from a strong start to the U.S. earnings season spilled over into the local market. The Big Four led the charge on renewed optimism around credit growth, while gold miners benefited from another surge in bullion prices.
The ASX200 experienced a choppy Tuesday before ultimately closing up +0.2% courtesy of another stellar session by the resources, with the materials sector +2.3% and energy sector +1.4% dragging a begrudging market higher.
The ASX flipped between gains and losses through Tuesday and sat mildly higher near 8900 at the close. Risk appetite improved on signs Washington and Beijing will keep talking, a cooler Middle East backdrop and a flow on more positive updates from Aussie corporates, with several positive, growth orientated deals announced.
The ASX 200 opened lower as expected on Monday, but failed to capitalise on a steady advance in U.S. futures, with nearly half of the session’s losses occurring in the afternoon even as the S&P pushed higher.
The ASX tracked weakness in overseas markets, though we started the day better off, with US Futures recovering from the get-go, finding solace from DJT’s more conciliatory comments towards China.
The game of chicken is back on between the US and China, just in time to deliver some seasonal October volatility. Chinese President Xi Jinping has drawn a clear red line in a bid to stem new US export controls, threatening to reignite a tit-for-tat trade spiral with Donald Trump just weeks before a planned meeting between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies.
