Afternoon trading August 3

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

Aussie shares retested two-week lows before mounting a partial recovery as falling retail trade volumes bolstered the case for a rates pause.

The ASX 200 reached mid-session 41 points or 0.55% in the red at 7314 after trading briefly below 7300.

Slim gains in defensive sectors were outweighed by declines across the wider market. Tech, REITs and materials fell hardest after US stocks suffered their biggest overnight loss since April.

The market clawed back a portion of its initial losses after fresh data showed Australians continued to cut their spending during the June quarter in the face of rising rates. Retail sales volumes declined by 0.5%.

“It’s the first time since 2008 that retail sales volumes have recorded three consecutive quarterly falls," Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said.

”Retail sales volumes are down 1.4 per cent compared to the June quarter last year. Outside of the pandemic period, this is the first time since 1991 that sales volumes have fallen compared to the previous year.”

Personal trading: Slim pickings. Managed to scrape a skinny profit from a fleeting up-tick in AZL before it dropped further. Hindsight implies I was very lucky to get away with it.