Afternoon trading December 19

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares hovered near two-year lows following a flat close on Wall Street and a plunge in oil prices.

The ASX 200 drifted 15 points or 0.3% lower to 5575 mid-session during a narrow, range-bound session. The benchmark index traded in a tight 18-point range as investors caught their breath after a wild few weeks in the US. 

The energy sector was the biggest drag, falling 2.5% to a 14-month low after US crude slumped more than 7% overnight. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $3.64 or 7.3% to US$46.24 a barrel following reports that Russia was raising production to record levels. WTI futures bounced 26 cents or 0.56% this morning to US$46.50 a barrel.

"Oil has gotten caught up in all the panic you're seeing," Bill O'Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management in the US, told Fairfax. "This is all about fears of a recession. It's risk-off everywhere."

Gold remained the sector of choice, rising 2.7% to a five-month peak. Also positive: financials +0.3% and materials +0.1%. Aside from energy, the biggest losers were health -1.2% and utilities -1.3%.

Overnight, major indices in the US closed ahead but well off their session peaks. The Dow added 0.35%, the Nasdaq 0.45% and the S&P 500 0.01%. S&P 500 futures were recently 11.75 points or 0.46% stronger.

Asian markets were little changed. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.04%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.24% andJapan's Nikkei 0.06%.

Gold futures eased 40 cents or 0.03%to US$1,253.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 71.96 US cents.

 

 

Trading: doesn't feel like a market for heroics. Volume has been seeping away. Just one trade here: snagged the first bounce in SEADA and got out before it really cratered. Watching for another opp but happy to be cautious. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.