Thanks Oscar for this morning and Keyser for filling this slot yesterday - appreciated.
Half-time round-up:
The share market reversed part of yesterday's rally despite strong overnight leads and a Reserve Bank rate announcement this afternoon.
The ASX 200 slid 21 points or 0.4% to 5708 by the halfway mark this morning, erasing almost half of yesterday's 48-point advance. Losses were broad, with notable falls including IT -1.2%, energy -1%, materials -0.4% and financials -0.3%.
Overnight, Wall Street shrugged off news of a shooting atrocity in Las Vegas, sending the S&P 500 up 0.39% to a record close. This morning, Dow futures were up 12 points or 0.05%. Most Asian markets were closed for public holidays, including China and Hong Kong. Japan's Nikkei put on 0.63%.
The Reserve Bank met this morning and is scheduled to release a policy update at 2.30pm EST. The cash rate is widely expected to be left on hold.
"Most of the focus today will be on the RBA ... and what the statement says about the economy, including any amendment to their language on the dollar other than to recognise the recent mini-rally in the USD," David de Garis, NAB director of economics, told CNBC. "This part of the statement will require some re-jigging, if only to refresh it for the recent pull back in the Aussie."
Crude oil futures retreated 12 cents or 0.24% this morning to US$50.46 a barrel. Gold futures fell $3.50 or 0.27% to US$1,272.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 78.17 US cents.
