Afternoon trading February 21

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Correction to an error in this morning's market preview: Nvidia reports tomorrow morning, not this morning. Sorry for the mistake.


Half-time wrap:

Australian shares fell for a second day following pre-earnings jitters on Wall Street and a sharp decline in iron ore.

The ASX 200 dropped 49 points or 0.64% by mid-session.

The big three bulk metal miners (BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals) lost between 3% and 4.3% after ore prices skidded 5.4% in China to their lowest since early November.

The surprise departure of CEO Brad Banducci and a $781 million first-half loss sent Woolworths shares down 8.64%. At the other end of the market, WiseTech and Ventia Services logged gains of 11.46% and 7.74%, respectively, on trading updates.

The market fell to an intraday low following news that pay packets increased more than inflation last year. Average base pay expanded 4.2% across the year, just ahead of headline annual inflation at 4.1%. The increase in wages was the strongest since 2009.

US stocks declined overnight as nervous traders booked profits in AI market-leader Nvidia ahead of tonight's earnings update. The S&P 500 gave up 0.6%.


Personal trading: DXB gave me some conniptions before paying off. Had to buy twice to get out with a profit before it soured again. Hoped W2V would come a pip lower before the rebound. Watching PGY for possible entry.