Afternoon trading April 5

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

The Australian share market was firmly on track for its first losing week in three after the threat of delayed interest rate cuts drove US stocks sharply lower.

The ASX 200 hit a two-week low, falling 71 points or 0.91% by mid-session. Today's fall - the third in four sessions this holiday-shortened week - put the index on track for a weekly loss of around 1.9%.

Banks, iron ore miners, supermarkets and tech stocks were among the morning's largest drags. Energy producers offered a haven from the selling.

US stocks dived overnight as a surge in oil prices and a rates warning from a central bank policy-maker added to jitters ahead of tonight's monthly jobs report. Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari spooked the market by saying the unsayable: sticky inflation might mean no rate cuts this year. The S&P 500 dropped 1.23% to its third loss in four sessions.


Personal trading: Fat pip from AEV. Highlight of a very slow week for me. Spec volumes seem pretty subdued.