Thanks Beany and morning regulars. Welcome back, Shants. Apologies to Brit for giving slacker Trees credit for last night's after-market lounge.
Half-time round-up:
Shares turned lower this morning as the latest RBA minutes clouded the rates outlook, company earnings came in mixed and Greece's debt negotiations ended in a stalemate.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 24 points or 0.4% weaker at 5865 after yesterday closing at a near-seven-year high amid speculation about more rate cuts this year. The dollar edged higher and the odds on a rate cut at next month's meeting contracted following the publication of the minutes from the January meeting this morning from a 74% probability to 60%. The dollar was lately buying 77.88 US cents,
The key passage in the minutes said: "The Board judged that a further reduction in the cash rate would be appropriate to provide additional support to demand, while inflation outcomes were expected to remain consistent with the 2 to 3 per cent target. In deciding the timing of such a change, members assessed arguments for acting at this meeting or at the following meeting. On balance, they judged that moving at this meeting, which offered the opportunity of early additional communication in the forthcoming Statement on Monetary Policy, was the preferred course."
The financial sector was the biggest drag on the market, falling 0.9% after ANZ reported and CBA traded without its dividend. Industrials -1.1%, IT -1.1% and health -0.6% were also notable losers. The gold sector rallied 1.3%, metals & mining 0.5% and consumer staples 0.7%.
A heavy schedule of corporate updates included positive reactions to reports from MQG, AMC, MND, ILU and CCL and thumbs down for ANZ, SEK, GWA, DSH and AIO.
US equity index futures remained in the red following the breakdown of the latest round of Greek debt negotiations. Dow futures were recently down 68 points or almost 0.4%. China's Shanghai Composite added 0.73%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.02% and Japan's Nikkei lost 0.2%.
Crude oil futures rallied 12 cents this morning to US$52.90 a barrel. Spot gold was $4.10 stronger at US$1,232 an ounce.
Interesting times. No real panic in the market over Greece, nor concern that the RBA minutes seems to imply the latest rate cut was an either/or proposition between this month and the next. Trading: earnings season always brings in some welcome volatility. I caught the initial bounce in GWA and then the recovery in ALL. Since then been playing the dips in GEM quite nicely. Best day for a while.
