Afternoon trading March 13

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares lost ground for the first time in four sessions as a soft night on Wall Street outweighed news that a gauge of Australian business conditions reached an all-time high.

The ASX 200 retreated 38 points or 0.6% to 5958 as a broad sell-off lowered all sectors. The metals & mining sector slid 1.6% after iron ore extended its losing run on fears of the impact of US tariffs on Chinese steel production. Telecoms shed 1.1%, energy 0.9% and financials 0.6%.

Overnight, US markets closed mixed as investors continued to fret over the possibility of a trade war. While the Nasdaq gained 0.36%, the S&P 500 lost 0.13% and the Dow 0.62%. S&P 500 futures were recently down 0.5 points or 0.02%.

The improving domestic economy was highlighted by a record reading on NAB's business conditions survey. The gauge ticked up three points to 21 points, the highest reading since the survey began in 1997. The employment index also touched record levels, rising ten points to +16.

"If the recent surge is sustained, the employment index points to a robust level of jobs growth of approximately 27,000 per month," NAB group chief economist Alan Oster told Fairfax.

Asian markets were little changed. China's Shanghai Composite inched ahead 0.12% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.01%, while Japan's Nikkei declined 0.13%.

Crude oil futures dropped 12 cents or 0.2% this morning to US$61.24 a barrel. Gold futures put on $3.70 or 0.28% to US$1,324.50 an ounce. The dollar was buying 78.81 US cents.



Trading: FEL offered a pullback entry opportunity. Entered in two stages for a wage. Added a few to the watchlist. Liked the DEM announcement, but regular volumes are so low that the temptation for stale holders to grab profits proved too strong.