Thanks Oscar and morning crew. Half-time round-up: Shares eased...

Thanks Oscar and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Shares eased for a second day as uncertainty over tonight's US Federal Reserve policy update continued to dampen buyer interest.

The ASX 200 fell 14 points or 0.2% to 5700 by the halfway point of the session after earlier hitting a one-week low at 5680. Much of the damage came from telecoms -1%, energy -0.8%, metals & mining -0.6% and financials -0.5%, offsetting rises in health +1%, industrials +0.5% and consumer staples +0.1%.

Traders sat on their hands following a subdued session in the US as President Donald Trump ramped up his criticism of North Korea and as portfolio managers prepared to hear the Fed's plans to reduce its stimulus program. The S&P 500 edged up 0.11%.

"In the absence of any economic data, the [US] session was really a pre-positioning exercise ahead of the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting and Janet Yellen's testimony shortly after the statement is released," IG's Chris Weston told Fairfax. "Clearly, we expect the Fed to announce a formal start to reducing its $4.47 trillion balance sheet, but this is in the price and the collective will make sure the market is comfortable with the fact that it will be gradual."


A lacklustre morning in Asia saw China's Shanghai Composite fade 0.08%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng put on 0.21% and Japan's Nikkei dead flat. Dow futures were recently off three points or 0.01%.

Crude oil futures bounced 30 cents or 0.61% this morning to US$49.78 a barrel. Gold futures rallied $5.30 or 0.4% to US$1,315.90 an ounce. The dollar was buying 80.15 US cents.


Trading: been pushing a hangover uphill all morning, which didn't translate into effective trading. Didn't trust my brain to make rational decisions. Brain is now suggesting a nap - might finally be onto something.