Afternoon trading May 19

Thanks @shovel40 and morning crew.


Half-time round-up: "ASX Update: Four-week low as caution sets in"

In this report:

• US dive spooks market
• Appen bounces on restructure news
• Miners hit by China ore threat
• EML tanks on regulatory woes

Personal trading: I normally avoid betting metaphors because we are, after all, highly-trained professionals operating tried and tested trading systems with minimal risk. (Ahem.) But this week my returns are more like those of a mug punter at the track. Been on all the wrong horses all week. Missed the bounce in EML by a hair's breadth, but had no problem getting a ride on today's biggest donkeys. A purchase from yesterday has had one trade all morning - death for a trader. Market conditions obviously aren't helping. The humbling thing about trading is no matter how long you play the game, you will face periodic runs when you wonder if you might not in fact be an idiot.