Thanks Oscar and morning crew. Half-time round-up: Shares...

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares followed Wall Street lower ahead of this afternoon's Reserve Bank rate announcement.

At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was down 12 points or 0.2% at 5860 after earlier dipping as low as 5853. Advances in the gold sector +3.2%, metals & mining +0.8% and energy +0.1% were outweighed by declines in telecoms -0.9%, utilities -0.5% and financials -0.4%.

The Reserve Bank met this morning and is due to release its monthly rate outlook at 2.30pm EST. While the cash rate is widely expected to be left at 1.5%, traders will examine the statement for any signs that the bank is preparing to raise rates to counter rampant house prices.

"The RBA Board Meeting is unanimously expected to be on hold, though markets will be paying close attention to the post meeting statement," Tapas Strickland, economist at the National Australia Bank, told CNBC.

Overnight, Wall Street lost ground as vehicle sales missed expectations, raising concerns about the broader economy. The S&P 500 shed 0.16% but closed well above its session low. Dow futures were recently off 30 points or 0.15%. Japan's Nikkei gave up 0.4%. Other major markets were closed.

Crude oil futures marked time this morning, edging up four cents or 0.08% to US$50.28 a barrel. Gold futures rallied $3.10 or 0.25% to US$1,257.10 an ounce. The dollar was buying 76.11 US cents.



Bit of housekeeping: looking for a volunteer to launch the afternoon thread at 1pm each day for two and a bit weeks while I introduce ma wee laddies tae the ould country. I'm here until Thursday, so looking for someone from Friday onwards. I'll be back on Wednesday April 26. Anyone please? The perks are... well... they're.... um... I'll get back to you about the perks. Trading: speculators in RGI and XST. No return yet.