Thanks Oscar and morning crew.Half-time round-up:The share...

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

The share market rebounded from last week's deep sell-off as bargain hunters stepped in at technical support.

The ASX 200 rallied 61 points or 1.1% to 5726 by mid-session despite heavy losses on Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark index respected the 5670-80 level which provided critical support during several months of sideways action last year. The rebound followed weekend speculation of a relief rally following a torrid two months for global markets which have shaved more than 600 points off the local index.

The rebound had breadth, with every sector recording gains, ranging from 3.1% for health stocks to less than 0.2% for consumer discretionary stocks. The materials sector added 1.2% and financials 0.8%.

A mixed morning in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite fall 1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng put on 0.14% andJapan's Nikkei 0.55%. Dow futures were recently ahead 20 points or 0.08%. Nasdaq futures were down 0.13%.

Crude oil futures added 13 cents or 0.19% this morning to US$67.72 a barrel. Gold futures improved $1.20 or 0.1%to US$1,237 an ounce. The dollar was buying 70.87 US cents.

Trading: SMX came good from Friday, but I didn't hold on long enough to enjoy the best of the rebound. Rotated into, ahem. GCY, which currently looks about as smart as cashing in a winning lottery ticket to buy a berth on the Titanic. Still time to come good, but then the Titanic seemed alright for an hour or so after it hit the iceberg. Also took GSC, which lately has had the endearing habit of selling off in the morning and bouncing in the afternoon. Oi, GCY: watch GSC and learn, why don't you.