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

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares pared yesterday's bumper gains after US futures fell into the red as the buzz over a pause in the US-China trade war faded.

The ASX 200 declined 39 points or 0.7% to 5732 mid-session, retaining more than half yesterday's stellar 104-point surge. The market started the week with its strongest rally in two years after the US and China opened a 90-day window to seal a trade deal. However, US stocks closed below their opening highs as analysts questioned the likelihood the two sides can overcome their differences.

“Overall trade news overnight [has] probably left the market with more questions than answers," NAB analysts told Reuters. "Can the US and China really resolve their differences in 90 days? It seems that more details and signs of progress will be needed if the initial trade truce warm fuzzy feeling is to be sustained.”

The S&P 500 put on 1.09%, but index futures ground lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were recently down 5.5 points or 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.09%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.28% andJapan's Nikkei 0.51%.

Here, energy stocks led the retreat, falling 1.5%. Consumer discretionary lost 1.4%, health 0.8% and financials 0.7%.

Crude oil futures improved 55 cents or 1.04% this morning to US$53.50 a barrel. Gold futures dipped 40 cents or 0.03%to US$1,239.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 73.59 US cents.

 

 

Trading: challenging start to the day with all the Iress problems. Alerts not working, slow loading, couldn't see the depth on most shares. Been problematic for more than a week, with a few days' relief until today. Eventually got a win out of MOY. Missed a cracking bounce in ESH. Got stuck in AGH too early during the early fog.