Good morning traders. Thanks @ttward, @Ravgnome & the aftermarket loungers.

The Dow slightly down .38% as Boeing weighed heavily on the index again, whereas the S&P 500 continued gains closed up .33%.

ASX Market Report

Australian shares have closed down slightly as an early rally couldn't be sustained.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 5.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 6,174.8 points at 1615 AEDT on Tuesday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 2.7 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 6,260.6.

"Today we had a really good start, and progressively we just had a bit of a fade out," said CommSec market analyst James Tao. Consumer discretionary stocks led decliners, collectively losing 0.68 per cent, after an ANZ-Roy Morgan survey indicated consumer confidence "nosedived" last week amid talk Australia had entered a so-called per-capita recession.

Energy stocks were up 0.65 per cent after oil prices rose following Saudi Arabia declaring it would cut production. Woodside Petroleum was up 0.75 per cent, Beach Energy up three per cent and Santos was up 1.91 per cent.

The big miners did well even though iron ore prices declined two per cent overnight. BHP was up 1.07 per cent, Rio Tinto was up 1.27 per cent, and South32 up three per cent.

Gold miners were hit as the price of yellow metal dropped, with Newcrest Mining down 3.81 per cent, Northern Star down 2.57 per cent and Evolution Mining down 0.82 per cent.

The big four banks were all down after NAB interim chief executive Philip Chronican told shareholders that his company had to "focus on earning back trust".

ANZ was down 1.22 per cent, NAB was down 0.47 per cent, Westpac was down 0.63 per cent and Commonwealth was down 0.03 per cent.

Telstra - whose workers were taking symbolic protected industrial action on Tuesday - was down 0.31 per cent, while pharma giant CSL was up 0.14 per cent.

McGrath was flat after the real estate agency announced the resignation of its chief financial officer after 18 months.

Intellectual property firm IPH Limited was up 2.76 per cent after it announced a $197 million hostile takeover bid for Xenith IP, with the shares of the target company jumping 14.02 per cent. The move aims to disrupt Xenith's planned merger with QANTM, the other ASX-listed intellectual property firm, whose shares dropped 9.15 per cent. "It should be interesting to see what happens," Mr Tao said.

Appen shares were down 9.15 per cent after completing a $285 million institutional placement to buy US artificial intelligence firm Figure Eight.

On Wednesday, Australian investors will be keeping an eye on Brexit, as a crucial vote scheduled in the UK House of Commons.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 5.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 6,174.8 points at 1630 AEDT on Tuesday.

* The All Ordinaries was down 2.7 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 6,260.6.

* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was up nine points at 6182.

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 70.69 US cents, from 70.42 US on Friday

* 78.66 Japanese yen, from 78.22

* 62.81 euro cents, from 62.69

* 53.55 British pence, from 54.26

* 103.29 NZ cents, from 103.50

GOLD:

The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1296.37 per fine ounce, from $US1297.70 on Friday.

In Asia

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed up 1 percent, while Chinese blue chips ended up 0.7 percent, extending the previous day’s rally.

Despite slowing domestic economic growth and uncertainty about the outlook for trade negotiations between China and the United States, Chinese markets have been buoyed this year by investors’ expectations of more stimulus to cushion any downturn. The CSI300 index has risen more than 28 percent this year.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index closed 1.8 percent higher, but Australian shares erased earlier gains to end down 0.1 percent.

Before the latest Brexit developments, risk sentiment was already well supported after global equity indexes climbed overnight on gains in technology stocks and expectations of more stimulus from China.

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In Europe

European shares ended flat on Tuesday after a choppy session during which hopes British Prime Minister Theresa May would win support for her plans for an orderly Brexit in an evening vote in Parliament gradually faded.

European bourses trimmed their morning gains and the pan-European index ended the day down 0.04 percent while the euro zone’s STOXXE rose a mere 0.1 percent.

Dublin’s ISEQ, which typically falls on fears of a disorderly Brexit, edged up 0.25 percent with investors still confident a no-deal Brexit will eventually be averted.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent as a retreating pound provided an accounting boost to the big exporters that dominate the index.

The British currency experienced heavy volatility, pushing blue chips in and out of positive territory. “Sterling rode the proverbial Brexit rollercoaster on Tuesday,” wrote Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

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In the United States

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Tuesday after tame inflation data supported the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on rate hikes, but the Dow was down as Boeing’s shares extended sharp losses from the day before.

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose last month, in line with estimates, and in the 12 months through February the CPI had the smallest gain since September 2016.

Boeing Co slumped 5.9 percent, extending Monday’s losses, as more countries grounded the company’s best selling line of jets following a second fatal crash in five months, while Senators Mitt Romney and Elizabeth Warren also urged the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ground the aircraft.

Airline stocks took a hit with the Dow Jones airlines index dropping 1.6 percent. The broader industrial sector was down 0.7 percent.

“The airlines industry as a whole is now exposed to political pressure and potentially some industry pressure that wasn’t there a few days ago,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.98 points, or 0.25 percent, to 25,585.9, the S&P 500 gained 11.38 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,794.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 42.58 points, or 0.56 percent, to 7,600.64.

The world’s largest planemaker fell as much as 13.4 percent on Monday and weighed on the Dow Jones index although it pared losses towards the end of the session.

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Australian News

The Reserve Bank has warned that Australia could face severe economic shocks that threaten its financial stability if it does not prepare adequately for climate change. It has also admitted it has been working with climate scientists to incorporate climate change models into its own economic forecasting.
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Australia's economic slowdown set to deepen as business conditions and confidence fall again. Australia's economic slowdown is likely to become more entrenched with business conditions and confidence falling further last month.
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Former trade minister Andrew Robb has slammed his ex-colleagues Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce, as well as Australia's security agencies, over what he sees as anti-China sentiment. In a wide-ranging interview with AM, Mr Robb confirmed he had been working with the Chinese company Landbridge on a plan to develop a health precinct in China, designed to train thousands of doctors and treat millions of patients.
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Value of new mortgages in Australia falls 21 per cent to GFC levels
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Last domino propping up Australian economy about to fall? I'd like to feel comfortable. I really would. But something keeps worrying me. It's this next graph, which shows the number of job advertisements in Australia. This graphic comes from ANZ Bank.
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Falling interest rates were the major catalyst for rising housing prices across Australia according to new research published on Monday by the Reserve Bank. The new findings come just a week after the RBA’s governor Philip Lowe said the rate cuts had not had a notable impact on house prices during the early to mid-2010s.
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The chief executive of AustralianSuper, Ian Silk, says long-term laggard superannuation funds should merge with a rival or be wound up, and the industry must "push harder" to put members' interests first. In a speech to be delivered on Wednesday, Mr Silk, who runs the country's largest fund, will also hit back at "hysterical" commentary about industry funds' investment priorities, defending the sector's interest in taking up environmental and social issues with corporate boards.
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The federal government has ditched a key recommendation from the banking royal commission to scrap trail commissions for new loans arranged by mortgage brokers after pressure from the industry and smaller lenders. The mortgage broker industry, which had warned that many brokers would go out of business if the Hayne recommendation was approved, cheered Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's announcement on Tuesday that the government would now review trail commissions in three years if it remains in government.
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Droughts, flooding and bushfires have combined to leave Australia's farmers more negative than positive about prospects for 2019. Rabobank's quarterly rural confidence survey released on Tuesday suggested drought conditions were still a big concern in many parts of the country.
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Global News

A debt crisis is brewing, S&P warns, but don't expect a 2008 rerun. Debt is higher than before the global financial crisis, making the world vulnerable to economic and market shocks, S&P Global Ratings has warned.
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Deal or no deal, U.S.-China trade talks may end in weeks: Lighthizer
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The White House's 2020 budget proposal on Monday is based on much rosier estimates of growth than last year, an optimistic view that contradicts most economists. Despite widespread expectations that the US economy will slow from the three percent expansion seen last year, officials in President Donald Trump's administration say growth will accelerate this year.
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Disney says its Fox takeover will take effect on March 20
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U.S. Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo will meet with top oil executives before he addresses a conference on Tuesday, seeking to get them to help the administration’s effort to boost crude exports to Asia and to support its policy of isolating Iran, according to three people at two companies briefed on the agenda.
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Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan faces an angry Congress
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Tesla bull says 'poor communication' is Elon Musk's biggest problem. Tesla is expected to post healthy sales growth this year. The company is finally starting to sell its ballyhooed Model 3 at an affordable price of $35,000. And Tesla also is about to launch a new Model Y crossover at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday. But none of that matters to Wall Street.
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Fiji Airways Boeing 737 Max 8 planes safe says CAA, as Australia, Europe, Singapore suspend flights
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Boeing Co’s stock took another beating on Tuesday, knocking off more than $25 billion (19 billion pounds) from the planemaker’s market value over the past two days, as more countries lined up to ground its 737 MAX 8 aircraft following Sunday’s deadly crash in Ethiopia.
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Eurozone ministers on Monday held back granting Greece debt relief because the government failed to implement reforms promised during the massive bailout that ended last year, officials said. Greece exited its third and final international bailout in August, a turning point in its progress out of the catastrophe that engulfed the country during the financial crisis.
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Germany will define its own security standards for a new 5G mobile network, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, after Washington said it would scale back data-sharing with Berlin if China’s Huawei was allowed to participate.
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Stock News

McGrath's chief financial officer has resigned after less than 18 months with the ASX-listed realtor. Glynn Wright, a former Woolworths' head of finance transformation who joined in October 2017, will leave in June, McGrath said on Tuesday.
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Ora Gold Ltd (ASX:OAU) completed the acquisition of the Abbotts ground on December 21 2018, significantly expanding the size and prospectivity of its Garden Gully gold project in Western Australia. As part of the purchase, Ora Gold obtained all the previous owner’s exploration data.
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American Pacific Borate and Lithium looks like a 10-bagger: former top-rated analyst.Orior Capital's Simon Francis has valued the company at $1.10 to $2.21 per share, 7-14x the current share price.
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Panoramic hammered on glitch blow. Shares in Panoramic Resources fell 14 per cent yesterday as the market reacted to a refinancing necessitated by numerous technical glitches at its Savannah nickel, copper and cobalt mine. The Peter Harold-led miner decided in July 2018 to restart the Kimberley mine.
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Cervantes Corporation updates Albury Heath Mine gold resource. The company has also identified five regional targets as possible Albury Heath Mine look-alikes.
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BHP runaway train disaster: ATSB report finds rail maintenance crew locked down wrong train in $300m Pilbara derailment blunder
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IPH makes $197m bid for rival Xenith IP. Intellectual property firm IPH has made a $197 million bid to buy Xenith IP, which is in the process of merging with QANTM Intellectual Property.
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You have the option of the brexit breakfast, or the normal breakfast. Chose wisely.