ASX Today: XJO pares back +0.4% gains into the afternoon as investor caution remains

It will likely depend on what Wall Street does tonight that informs what tomorrow looks like on the ASX as a strong start to the day pared off after lunch.

While the index was up +0.4% earlier in Monday trade by 2.45pm AEDT the ASX200 had fallen back to just over one tenth of a percent gains and looks like it could end in a red fade.

What that means for the rest of the week is hard to say but it’s my bet we’ll be very correlated with what Wall Street does this week, given we more or less imitated how the Dow Jones closed on Friday. For the start of the day, at least.

Investors at home are likely still digesting what the recent RBA rate hike and 4% inflation means for the month of October and beyond; oil prices remain elevated and gold is still rangebound around US$4,100/oz.

We get no real major market-moving ABS data this week though there is a Labour Force update on Thursday. The US and EU have both recently risen interest rates; bond yields in both jurisdictions – and at home – remain elevated.

Then there’s the question of whether the collapse of Bathla and a withdrawal suspension over at private credit giant Metrics spell an alarming picture for the Australian economy.

Perhaps because that world of finance is very boring to talk about, nobody is paying attention, though coverage elsewhere has been trickling through on Monday.

(I could have told you all about it when I covered the story last Friday.)

Looking around the traps today, CSL Ltd investors liked the news the company will expand into developing a drug for rare liver and kidney diseases, bringing up the healthcare sector; JB Hi-Fi fell -0.7% a/a 2.50pm AEDT as a class action appears set to hit the retailer, and, Southern Cross Electrical Engineering continued its run inking top gainer status on Monday, up over 11%.

That’s all from me today – see you tomorrow morning for Market Open.

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