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As our day locally draws to a close the ASX200 probablly faired better than most falling 3.20% for the session to close at 5833.30 for a loss of 192.90 points.  Elsewhere through the region the Nikkei is trading approximately 5.92% lower, Shanghai -2.15%, Hang Seng -4.94% and the Kospi is currently lower by 3.15%. Locally the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates unchanged, 18th straight meeting it has done so,  which was in line with market expectations. Taking a bit of a closer look at the market we saw the likes of WTC -10.73%, LYC -8.77%, BPT -8.46% and MND -7.54%. Looking through the top 200 the only positive was RRL +0.25% and finishing flat for the day were MYR, NST and RSG.  European equities will come under scrutiny tonight as markets look for a lead ahead of the US open but I think it will be a case of how much the downside can be limited. The question now remains as to how much of an impact if any will the spike in volatility will have on market confidence going forward and what will be the flow on effect to market expectations with regard to interest rates.  Nothing like a bit of volatility for Jerome Powell to ease into the new job. Looking at currency markets the AUDUSD is at 0.7860 the Yen remains below 109.00 at 108.82, the Euro is trading 1.2371 Spot Gold is back above $1340.00 per ounce and bitcoin continues to plummet currently trading at USD $6240.00.  US futures no doubt are showing a weaker open with the Dow lower by approximately 1.2%, Emini S&P's -0.75% and nasdaq futures -0.14% still a long way from the open.  NI225 CFD Index Tracker hourly chart.

So as the day draws to a close the local market finished at the top end of the days trading range despite a somewhat cautious start to the day. The ASX200 finished at 6090.10 +0.87% or +52.40 points. Gains were widespread today with all four major banks helping the charge higher with NAB +0.58%, ANZ +1.12%, WBC +1.49% AND CBA +1.45%.  Other moves worth mentioning today include GUD +5.79%, BPT +5.38%  and SVW +4.27% which all contributed solid gains for the day. The USD looks to be finding some legs as we go into the London session with the AUD  at 0.8043, EUR 1.2422, JPY 109.30 and spot gold at USD $$1343.95 per ounce. Bitcoin has recovered over the course of the day to be back at USD $10,100 and tonight the focus will be on the likes of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Visa, MatserCard and Alibaba for earnings results.

The ASX200 has recovered from session lows following on from local CPI data which came in marginally lower than expected today.  Some of the red has disappeared from screens  at the beginning of the session with the likes of TLS +0.69%, TWE +0.53%, MVF +0.74%, and MPL +0.61%.  After posting a low at 5993.60 the main index is now trading at 6012.30 for a loss of 0.17% or -10.50 points. Major movers in the index include BPT -5.35%, PLS -3.83% VVR -3.72%, ANN +4.07%, API +3.82% and SIG +2.91%.  The biggest mover on the day is SRX +45.78% following on from the take over offer at $28.00 per share.  The AUD is trading at 0.8061 marginally lower following on from the CPI data while most other major currencies remain pretty much unchanged ahead of the State of the Union Speech at 1.00 PM. Bitcoin continues to come under pressure trading at $9625 against the USD.

The local market did a complete U-turn as the market pushed lower into the close as crude oil traded lower, S&P 500 futures traded lower along with overall market weakness going in to the close for today. S&P 500 futures are lower by approximately 0.5%, European markets are pointing to a weaker open , crude oil is lower by approximately 1% as the dollar starts to gather a little momentum in particular against the commodity currencies with the AUDUSD trading at 0.8065, NZDUSD 0.7315 and USDCAD at 1.2356. Looking back over the day we saw the banks all lose ground despite looking like they wanted to turn positive for the session with NAB -0.65%, ANZ -0.52%,and WBC -0.42 % and CBA managed to close -0.13% for the day. As the main index managed to finish at 6022.80 a loss of 0.87% or - 52.60 points on the day, other notable moves today included NVT -9.35%, CCP -8.07%, PLS -4.85% while FBU gained 3.55%, GEM rallied 3.05% and GMA closed the session out with a agin of 2.06%. Watch for earnings from the likes of AMD, EA, MCD, and PFE in the US tonight along with bond yields in the US and Germany as an ongoing theme. NVT Chart Attached.

Despite a weak start to the session the  ASX200 recovered into the afternoon to finish at 6050.00 a loss of 0.08 percent or 4.70 points after trading as low as 6029.10 earlier in the day. The big miners continued to hold ground with BHP finishing +0.55%, RIO +0.78% and FMG +1.59%. The banks recovered some of their earlier losses but still finished lower on the day. NAB closed -0.58%, ANZ -0.52%, WBC -0.0.226% and CBA finished unchanged on the day at $78.65. Higher commodity prices overnight helped OZL higher +1.54%, WPL +0.41% but CTX managed to buck the trend with a decline of 1.08%.   Other notable movers in the index today include SYR - 5.52%, AST -2.33% , BSL -2.05% while RFG continues to strugle with another negative day falling 2.43%. Positive performances by RSG +5.78%, AHY +5.32%, SAR +5.32% and WSA +4.70% helped lift spirits in a quiet day locally ahead of the long weekend. The decline in the USD is sure to come into play again tonight as the local currency pushes towards 0.8100, Euro higher at 1.2435, GBP 1.4294 and Yen continuing stronger at 109.00. (USDJPY) Chart attached).

The ASX200 index closed today at 6037 up 45 points as markets across Asia jumped after the US government shutdown was overturned. President Trump signed a bill that funds the government for a further 17 days , but does not cover the controversional illegal immigration problem. 

The ASX200 finished the day towards the low end of the trading range postiing a loss of 0.54% or -32.80 points to close at 6015.80. The banks all posted lossess , the big miners BHP -2.91%, RIO -3.46% and FMG -3.01% all weighed on the main index.  SRX remained the best performer on the day gaining 13.93%, followed by WTC +3.55% and A2M +2.43%.  The Aussie dollar came within a whisker of USD .8000 after hitting an intra day high of 0.7998 before falling back towards 0.7950. The Yen continues to trade below 111.00 at 110.80 and the Euro remains above 1.2200 at 1.2222. Spot gold has given back some minor gains pushing back towards USD $1333.90 per ounce while all eyes remained on the cryptocurrencies where bitcoin pushed towards USD $10,000 before recovering to be currently trading at $11355.

The ASX200 finished on a weak note closing lower by 28.50 points or -0.47% at 5048.60.  A2M+6.46%, BKL +6.17% and NEC +3.29% remained as the best performers on the day while RFG -4.26, % and NAN -3.72% posted the largest percentages losses today in the main index.  In other moves the big four banks closed lower, retailers JBH and HVN closed +1.17% and +1.13% respectively while WPL lost 1.94% over the day. The Australian Dollar continued to remain well bid at 0.7966, spot gold (XAUUSD) remains above USD $1341.00 per ounce as markets await the reopen of U.S markets tonight from the long w.e break. Bitcoin continues to hold above USD $13000. (WPL Hourly Chart attached).

It ended up being a relatively quiet session for the ASX200 ahead of the Martin Luther King Jnr public holiday. The main index locally finished 7.0 points or 0.12% higher at 6077.10. NXT -4.03%, FXJ -2.68% and MQA-2.23% were the biggest percentage losers in the index while MYX took out first place for the largest percentage gain rallying 6.80%, EVN came in a close second with a 6.64% gain and RSG finished 5.86% higher.  Other notable movers in the resource space included NST +4.53%, SBM +4.30% and SAR +3.38%. The Australian Dollar remains well bid pushing above 0.7950 USD as gold also continues to trade higher over the session currently trading at USD $1343.75 per ounce. BHP and Rio continued their recent strong form closing by 1.17% and 1.46% respectively. The banks had a mixed session NAB -0.20%, WBC -0.70%, ANZ +0.46% and CBA +0.36%. The Japanese Yen continues to trade below 111.00 at 110.70 and the EURUSD is currently trading at 1.2218. Bitcoin is currently trading lower by 0.23% at USD $13600. (AUDUSD hourly chart attached).

The ASX200 finished the session lower today continuing on from the prior days weakness. The Index finished the session lower by 29.10 points or 0.48% at 6067.60.  Retail stocks were among the better performers today after the release of better than expected retail sales numbers. the sector also received a boost after early gains from JBH which finished 4.40% higher on the day along with SUL which also managed a 3.54% gain, FLT rallied 3.38% while RFG managed a 3.04% gain on the day.  The likes of GXY did it tough today falling 10.76%, PLS fell 6.56% while BKL -5.39% and CAR rounded out the biggest losses on the day. the AUDUSD rallied and is currently trading at 0.7873 while bitcoin continues to see further selling pressure currently trading lower by approximately 7% at $13,480. JBH Hourly chart attached.