The Dovish Pivot has obscured the Hamas-Israeli conflict. The Fed messaging has changed. Is it real, or just a moment?

ASX 200 rose another 48 points to 7088 (+0.7%) up for a fifth consecutive session, bouncing back from 6,890 levels just last Wednesday. Almost all sectors finished higher. Consumer discretionary is the top-performing sector today as RBA rate hike expectations tapered off.

US markets finished higher overnight, recovering earlier losses following fresh remarks from Fed officials bolstering confidence the Fed will refrain from lifting rates this year amid rising oil prices and conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Was that the top for bond yields. The market is behaving as if it was. Up 81 and interest rate sensitive sectors up. The Israel-Hamas conflict suggests we go “Risk Off”. We’re going “Risk On”

ASX 200 blasted 70 points higher to 7041 (+1.0%) as bond yield fell hard on safe-haven buying of bonds. Talk of rate cuts as Israel/Hamas conflict the focus. Gold miners are better but not spectacular, with NST up 1.5% and EVN up 0.3%. Lithium plays bouncing hard as a short squeeze takes hold. PLS up 6.2%, and IGO up 3.5%.

US equities rallied Friday, led by gains in mega-cap tech stocks after non-farm payrolls rose the most in eight months, signalling a tight labour market. The Dow Jones rose 288 points (+0.87%) in a choppy day of trade. Up 438 at best. Down 273 at worst. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ registered their largest daily gain since late August, up 1.18% and 1.6%.

The ASX 200 gave back most of its gains to end up only 16 points to 6970 (0.2%). After a strong start, caution prevailed, US futures pointed to a negative open and confidence was sapped.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 9.98 points, or 0.03%, to close at 33,119.57. The S&P 500 dipped 0.13% at 4,258.19, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.12% to end at 13,219.83. Energy is this week’s biggest loser, followed by the beaten-down utilities sector. Both sectors are down 5.9% and 4%, respectively. Weekly Jobless Claims came in at 207,000 for the week ending Sept. 30, up just 2,000 from the prior week’s numbers. Economists had forecasted 210,000.

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