Thanks afternoon crew.
End-of-day wrap:
The share market logged its biggest weekly loss of the year as concerns about Chinese growth and US rates battered global financial markets.
The ASX 200 shed 192 points or 2.6% since Monday despite a slim gain of two points or 0.03% this session. The China-facing materials sector was the biggest drag, falling 4.3% across the week following a raft of weak economic indicators out of the world's second-largest economy. The dollar dropped 1.3% to a nine-month low amid worries about the impact of a China slowdown on Australian exports.
Wall Street was another headwind as the S&P 500 rung up its worst three-day loss (2.7%) since March. The rates-sensitive Nasdaq did it tougher still, sinking 3.4%.
Here, the speculative end of the market struggled all week. The Emerging Companies index fell for four straight days to its weakest close yesterday since late June. The index fell again today before bouncing 0.26% in the closing auction.
A week to forget then. And I know how I like to forget: cocktails! This week's Lounge Special is the delightfully-named Zombie. It's a brain-numbing blend of white and dark rum blended with pineapple juice, lime juice and grenadine. Form an orderly queue. No pushing at the back, please. Recipe here.
