Afternoon trading May 22

Thanks Oscar and morning crew. Big hug for @Cleo in her time of sorrow.


Half-time round-up:

Shares slumped as the recent rally in miners stuttered and Telstra plumbed seven-year lows.

The ASX 200 dived 54 points or 0.9% to 6030, the weakest level since May 2, as the telecoms sector lost 2.4%, metals & mining 1.2% and financials 0.8%. The industrials sector was the best of a bad lot, down a relatively modest 0.6% as the market threatened to post its heaviest loss since late March.

The tumble came despite a positive night on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rallied 0.74% amid renewed optimism that the US and China may avert a damaging trade war. Asian markets welcomed the news yesterday, but offered little follow-through buying this morning. China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.54% and Japan's Nikkei 0.01%. S&P 500 futures were recently off one point or 0.04%.

Crude oil futures improved 21 cents or 0.29% this morning to US$72.45 a barrel. Gold futures declined 90 cents or 0.07% to US$1,290 an ounce. The dollar was buying 75.8 US cents.



Can't see anything on the newswires to explain this sudden shift in market mood. May just be common or garden profit-taking after an armchair ride from the early-April lows. Danger of a double top on the XJO, but I wouldn't say this feels like a market top. Trading: half a pip from RAP, then waited for the bounce opportunity in S66. Got in just above $1.40, which was earlier than necessary but offered a few pips.