Afternoon trading December 18

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares slumped this morning after Wall Street dived to 14-month lows overnight, extending the US's worst December losses since 1980.

The ASX 200 gave up 38 points or 0.7% to 5620 by mid-session, halving its initial fall and holding above last week's two-year low. The benchmark index fared better than pre-market futures trading suggested after another horror session in the US, where the S&P 500 dropped 2.08% to a level last seen in October 2017. Analysts attributed the decline to jitters about a likely rate hike on Wednesday night at a time when the trade war with China appears to be undermining global growth.

Helping sentiment here was a rebound in S&P 500 futures, lately up 11 points or 0.43%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.03% andJapan's Nikkei 1.04%.

Energy stocks topped local declines, losing 2.2% after US crude dipped below US$50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were recently down another 43 cents or 0.86% to US$49.45 a barrel. Also weak here were I.T stocks -1.7%, health -1.3% and financials -1%. The gold sector jumped 2.5%, metals & mining 1% and telecoms 0.3%.

Gold futures eased 80 cents or 0.06%this morning to US$1,251 an ounce. The dollar was buying 71.96 US cents.

 

 

Trading: DNA may have more in it, but I grabbed the exit opportunity like a drowning man. Heading off for a break on the weekend and looking to clear the decks. Trading volumes feel weak across everything but the one or two runners each day. The market is wallowing like a fat bloke on the couch after Christmas lunch.