Thanks @shovel40 and morning crew.Half-time round-up:Declines in...

Thanks @shovel40 and morning crew.


Half-time round-up:

Declines in key commodities helped drag Australian shares lower for a third session as traders ignored solid US leads.

The ASX 200 eased 22 points or 0.3 per cent to 6688 despite an overnight rebound in US stocks. The S&P 500 in the US bounced 0.62 per cent after President Donald Trump told reporters a trade deal with China could come "sooner than you think". The local index slipped 39 points yesterday and was lately more than 40 points down for the week.

Gold's heaviest fall in three weeks took its toll on miners this morning. The sector slumped 3.5 per cent as Silver Lake Resource gave up 5 per cent, Gold Road 4.2 per cent and Newcrest 3.8 per cent. The precious metal shed $27.90 or 1.8 per cent overnight but has since regained $4 or 0.3 per cent at $US1,516.30 an ounce.

Energy stocks succumbed to a 1.1 per cent decline in crude following reports that Saudi Arabia had restored full production at facilities damaged by drone attack. Oil Search lost 1 per cent, Santos 1.1 per cent and Woodside 0.8 per cent.

Health giants Cochlear and CSL hit record levels in the last two months, but this morning gave some back. Cochlear lost 1.6 per cent and CSL 1.2 per cent. Utilities were another drag as AGL gave up 1.7 per cent and APA Group 1.6 per cent.

Tech was the pick of the sectors as recent index addition Jumbo Interactive rose 4.8 per cent and Wisetech 2 per cent. Yesterday's star performer, Afterpay, slid 0.5 per cent.

The big two miners cushioned the index from a deeper loss. BHP advanced 0.6 per cent and Rio Tinto 1 per cent. The big banks all retreated, with CBA and ANZ taking the biggest hit of 0.3 per cent.

What's hot today and what's not:

Hot today: junior miner Stavely Minerals did not spare the hyperbole when it announced the latest drilling results from its flagship copper-gold project in Victoria. The company compared the mineralisation on its prospect to Butte, Montana - sometimes referred to as the "richest hill on earth". Assay results from diamond drilling revealed zones of up to 40 per cent copper. Executive Chairman Chris Cairns described the results as "stunning". The announcement sent the share price up 246 per cent to an all-time high.

Not today: medi-tech company Osteopore has been one of the year's most successful Initial Public Offerings. Investors lucky enough to get shares at 20 cents saw the stock open at three times that price on Monday and rise to a high of $1.22 yesterday. A bout of profit-taking was inevitable with huge stag profits on offer. The share price sagged 17 cents or 16.5 per cent today to 86 cents.

Asian markets stuttered after a positive open. China's Shanghai Composite was lately down 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei were both off their session highs but up 0.2 per cent.S&P 500 index futures were recently off three points or 0.1 per cent.

Turning to commodity markets, Brent crude futures dipped 12 cents or 0.2 per cent this morning to $US62.67 a barrel.

On currency markets, the dollar inched up a tenth of a cent to 67.56 US cents.

Trading: been cursed with miserable part-fills this morning - the kind where you need a significant bounce to make the trades worthwhile. Holding TNY and RCE. Caught some of the brief rebound in OSX.