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ASX 200 rose 29 points to 6954 (+0.4%) ahead of NFPs tonight. Banks led the charge higher with the Big Bank Basket at $175.74 (+1.2%). CBA up 1.1%, with WBC the standout, up 2.1%. Insurers rallied, QBE up 2.7%, and MQG doing better up 0.5%, but MFG fell 18.5% on lower FUM numbers again.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 127.17 points, or 0.4%, to close at 33,129.55. The S&P 500 gained 0.81% at 4,263.75. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.35% at 13,236.01. Tesla up 5.9% and Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all up around 2%. Growth in US services sector slowed along with US private payrolls increasing less than expected. Equity markets viewed these results as reducing the chance of a Fed rate rise however all eyes remain on the key US jobs number expected Friday night (our time).

ASX 200 was up but has faded. A bit of Bond market relief kicked off by a 5% fall in the oil price has helped but not much.

ASX 200 shrugged off early indifference to push off the 6900 level to close at 6925, up 35 points (+0.5%). Banks and industrials leading the bounce from oversold levels.

Stand Aside – The trend is set, the herd is in motion, no point getting in the way.

ASX 200 fell another 53 points to 6890 (0.8%), an 11-month low with banks and industrials in the firing line today. The Big Bank Basket dropped to $172.06 (-1.6%), with CBA down 1.6% and MQG falling 2.1%.

The blue-chip average is down around 470 points, or 1.4%, on Tuesday. The Dow last performed worse on March 22, when the index slid 530 points or 1.6%. The S&P 500 slid 1.37%, touching its lowest level since June during the session and closing at 4,229.45. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.87% to end at 13,059.47 as growth stocks saw some of the biggest losses.