Thanks Oscar and morning crew.Half-time round-up:Shares...

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares spiralled to a two-year low after Chinese trade data missed expectations and US futures suggested no respite tonight from the global equity rout.

The ASX 200 slumped 100 points or 1.8% to 5580 mid-session, a level last visited in December 2016. The retreat followed another night of heavy losses on Wall Street on Friday, where the S&P 500 shed 2.33% and the Nasdaq 3.05%. S&P 500 futures began the week on an ominous note, lately off 15.5 points or 0.59%.

Chinese trade figures released over the weekend fell far short of economists' projections, suggesting tariffs may be starting to bite. Read more here.

"China's November trade data missed expectations by a hefty margin," CBA analysts told CNBC. "Softer export growth reflects slower global growth and the fading effect of US importers' front‑loading shipments to avoid increases in tariffs. Falling import growth points to softening domestic demand. But we expect Chinese fiscal stimulus to support imports in 2019."

Asian markets saw red. China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.37%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.18% andJapan's Nikkei 1.9%.

The carnage here was widespread: I.T. stocks down 3%, health 2.9%, financials 2.6%, consumer discretionary 2.4% and industrials 1.5%. The defensive gold sector +2.4% and metals & mining +0.9% offered havens.

Crude oil futures edged up ten cents or 0.19% this morning to US$52.72 a barrel. Gold futures rose $2 or 0.16%to US$1,254.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 72.14 US cents.

 

Trading with Iress this morning was the most disorienting experience since that one time I took magic mushrooms and talked to a tree. The charts looked like they'd been drawn with a Spirograph, orders blinked on and off, the market depth constantly shifted like the sands of the Sahara. Kept pinching myself, but no, it was all real. Iress really is the gift that keeps on giving. I no longer wonder each morning whether it will work, only how exactly it won't work and whether I will find a workaround. Somehow I muddled through this morning with a few wins once the dust settled. ALG, VHT and LVT. At least. I think that's what happened. It's also possible I'm still asleep and dreamed the whole damn thing.