Thanks Brit and morning crew. Half-time round-up: Australian...

Thanks Brit and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Australian shares plumbed fresh two-and-a-half-year lows this morning as a record half-year profit from CBA failed to steady nerves following overnight ructions in oil and bond markets.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 106 points or 2.2% weaker at 4726 and on track for its lowest close since July 2013. At its weakest point this morning the benchmark index fell almost 270 points below Monday's close. There was red across the board, with the biggest blows landing on IT -4.6%, gold -4%, energy -3.8% and metals & mining -3.6%.

The financials sector dropped 2.3% to a two-and-a-half-year low despite news that CBA boosted profit by 4% over the last six months of last year. Banks around the world have come under selling pressure this year amid speculation about their exposure to falling commodity prices. Overnight oil fell for a fourth straight night, coming perilously close to a new 12-year low.

"Another sell-off in oil prices will be a sobering note for today's trading," CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner told Fairfax. "Last night's big drop in oil creates the possibility of a test of the late January lows. A move to new lows in oil would be a blow to market confidence, raising concerns about the potential for bad debts in the energy sector and increased pressure on international credit markets."

US equity futures followed Japanese shares south. Dow futures were recently down 82 points or 0.51%. The Nikkei was off 2.37%. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng remained closed for lunar New Year holidays.

Crude oil futures rebound 48 cents this morning to US$28.42 a barrel. Spot gold was $5.90 lower at US$1,192.70 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.45 US cents.


Getting close to capitulation here. Partial reversal looks increasingly likely this arvo or tomorrow. Red open tomorrow I'll be tempted to buy hard. Trading: wins so far in MBE, KBL and IAG. Still holding 1PG and a little more IAG.