Afternoon trading August 15

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Aussie shares bounced off a four-week low after China unexpectedly cut lending rates and the Reserve Bank declared it saw a "credible path" to lower inflation with interest rates at current levels.

The ASX 200 rallied 36 points or 0.5% towards its first gain in three sessions. The Australian benchmark sagged 0.86% yesterday as a property crisis in China weighed on commodity prices.

The market added to opening gains after the People's Bank of China cut a key lending rate from 2.65% to 2.5%. The surprise cut followed news yesterday that the nation's largest property developer had suspended trading in its onshore bonds.

The news helped the index weather a grim set of Chinese economic figures an hour later. July industrial production, retail sales, asset investments and employment data all came in short of expectations in a sign the economy may be losing heat faster than economists anticipated.

The market got another leg-up from hints that domestic rates may be on hold for the foreseeable future. While the minutes from this month's policy meeting left the door open to "further tightening", they also held out the possibility of an extended pause.

"Members observed that there was a credible path back to the inflation target with the cash rate staying at its present level," the minutes said.

Personal trading: Bought retraces in TTT and MGA.