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The ASX is in a not-so-charming back-and-forth this week as it alternates between gains and losses.

After closing yesterday at the highest point since last week’s slump, the ASX 200 wiped off those gains and ended the day lower than Monday afternoon. The index closed 0.65 per cent down at 6708.80 points.

Banks weighed heavily on today’s losses with red splattered across the big four. Commonwealth copped the lightest of the losses at 0.67 per cent, Westpac declined 1.15 per cent, NAB 1.16 per cent, and ANZ dropped 1.39 per cent.

Australian Finance Group livened up the sector ever so slightly with a healthy 4.45 per cent gain.

It was a gloomy day for retail stocks too as supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles pulled further away from the all-time highs they enjoyed last week. Woolworths closed 0.99 per cent in the red and Coles closed 0.65 per cent down.

The a2 Milk Company outperformed the sector with a 0.89 per cent gain, today closing higher than before CEO Jane Hrdlicka announced her retirement last Friday.

The health care sector couldn’t escape today’s losses despite best efforts from medical device company Cochlear, which gained 0.72 per cent.

Private healthcare provider Ramsay Health Care also gained 0.14 per cent, but the sector’s increases were overshadowed by a 0.95 per cent decrease from CSL and a 1.02 per cent drop from Sonic Healthcare.

Tech stocks continued to dip with WiseTech losing another 1.6 per cent just two days after announcing the Ready Korea buyout. Xero and Afterpay fared no better, with the companies posting 1.57 and 1.83 per cent losses, respectively.

The resources industry was only green sector today. Fortescue Mining helped lead the charge with its fourth healthy day in a row. The iron ore producer is edging towards its all-time high and currently sitting at an 11-year premium share price of $10.52 per share

Rio Tinto both saw muted gains with a 0.02 per cent rise, while BHP fell slightly and declined 0.026 per cent.

Global markets continued to trend sideways while the world holds its breath for a U.S.-China trade update. Sunday is the deadline for a tariff hike from the States if the two parties can’t agree to some like terms.

The Dow Jones saw green for the first time this week with a 0.11 per cent rise while we slept down under. The S&P 500 index followed suit and added on 9.11 points.

Asian markets followed U.S. trends today. The Japanese Nikkei 225 made up some of yesterday’s lost ground and tacked on 40.46 points or 0.17 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained a hearty 308.28 points or 1.16 per cent.

The Aussie dollar spiked today, and will currently buy you 68.80 U.S. cents, 52.05 pence, and 2.95 Romanian leu.

Today’s ups and downs

Online loan business MoneyMe is joining this week’s ranks of healthy ASX listings. The company’s $45 million initial public offering sold its first load of shares for $1.25 each, but after officially listing today, MoneyMe is already approaching the $2 mark. Shares closed after their first day of trading 38.8 per cent up at $1.74 each.

Redbubble stayed as the worst performer of the day, dropping 43.65 per cent by market close on the back of an underwhelming trading update. Sluggish revenue growth for its RedBubble.com marketplace didn’t bode well with investors. The company’s shares closed worth $1.02 each compared to last year’s $1.81.

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