Good Morning Fellow Traders, Thanks @Quantum Torus @Ravgnome and...

Good Morning Fellow Traders,

Thanks @Quantum Torus @Ravgnome and AM Loungers. Certainly has been challenging times in the trading realm. Looks to be a tricky day ahead too.

The Australian share market has fallen to a two-year low with equities and risk assets taking a hit from the US Federal Reserve sounding less dovish on future rate hikes than investors had expected.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 74.8 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 5505.8 on Thursday, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 1.36 per cent per cent.

After being flat at lunch, the local market tumbled through the afternoon with banking and commodity-related stocks weighing heavily, while healthcare, tech, consumer discretionaries and industrials were all more than a per cent lower.

CommSec market analyst James Tao said Fed chair Jerome Powell's comments were short of what investors were hoping.

"The markets were probably anticipating a little bit more to relieve fears of a potential slowdown to the US economy and the global economic growth picture," he told AAP.

Mining stocks were the clear drag on the indices, suffering a sector-wide tumble of three per cent.
Benchmark BHP fell 2.6 per cent to $32.62 and Rio Tinto lost two per cent to $75.11, while BlueScope and South32 tumbled 7.4 and 4.8 per cent respectively.

Gold miners weren't spared either after subdued precious metals prices, with Northern Star, Saracen and St Barbara losing between 4.6 and 4.9 per cent.

The energy sector continued its weak recent run despite oil prices bouncing overnight.
Origin Energy led the losses for the sector, down 3.9 per cent to $6.21, while Oil Search and Woodside fell 1.2 and 1.7 per cent.

Three of the big four banks were up at noon but slid thereafter, with ANZ suffering the heaviest loss by close, down 1.6 per cent to $23.55, and Commonwealth the least, down 0.7 per cent to $68.92.

Consumer staples were only slightly lower thanks to Coles and Metcash lifting two and three per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, Genex Power shares were 10.4 per cent higher after the renewable energy generator secured funding to build a hydro energy plant in North Queensland.

Australia's jobless rate increased from a six-year low to a seasonally adjusted 5.1 per cent in November, despite market expectations the figure would remain unchanged.

The Australian dollar was another victim of the stifled risk sentiment associated with the US rate hike.
The Aussie was buying 70.91 US cents at 1630 AEDT, from 71.93 on Wednesday.

ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 74.8 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 5505.8
* The All Ordinaries was down 77.1 points, or 1.36 per cent, at 5572.9
* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was down 100 points, or 1.81 per cent, at 5431.0

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 70.91 US cents, from 71.93 US cents on Wednesday
* 79.58 Japanese yen, from 80.80
* 62.27 euro cents, from 63.19
* 56.13 British pence, from 56.82
* 105.32 NZ cents, from 104.77

GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1244.8 per fine ounce, from $US1250.90 on Wednesday.

Technology stocks led a slide on Wall Street on Thursday, with the S&P 500 languishing at 15-month lows and the Nasdaq flirting with bear market territory, after the Federal Reserve quashed hopes of a toned-down approach to its interest-rate hike path.

Adding to the gloom were a few disappointing earnings reports and the U.S. Congress scrambling to agree on a funding bill ahead of a Friday midnight deadline to prevent a partial shutdown of the federal government.

The Nasdaq was down 2.3 percent at its session low, pushing the tech-heavy index more than 20 percent below its Aug. 29 closing high. If it closes at those levels, it will have confirmed bear territory.

The Fed’s move on Wednesday to largely adhere to its plan for more rate hikes over the next two years and Chairman Jerome Powell’s plan keep the central bank’s balance sheet-reduction plan on “autopilot” spooked investors already worried about slowing economic growth.
That sparked a retreat in growth sectors such as technology and healthcare, as investors sought comfort in the relative safety of defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate.

The technology sector, which had led most of the market’s decade-long bull run, also entered bear market territory at its session low. The index was last off 2.01 percent and the biggest drag on the market.

Consumer stocks also fell on worries of higher borrowing costs adding to signs of slowing consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas. The consumer discretionary index slid 2.36 percent, while the normally defensive staples sector fell 1.46 percent.

“There is more carry-over from Powell’s comments. Investors don’t see a catalyst and realize the Fed will no longer be spiking the punch bowl at the party and that’s what people are trying to grapple with now,” said Sandy Villere, portfolio manager of the Villere Balanced Fund in New Orleans.

At 1:03 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 412.37 points, or 1.77 percent, at 22,911.29, the S&P 500 was down 36.48 points, or 1.46 percent, at 2,470.48 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 111.19 points, or 1.68 percent, at 6,525.64.
The Dow Jones Transport Average, considered a barometer of economic activity, was down 1.10 percent moving deeper into bear market territory.

The CBOE Volatility index, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term volatility for the S&P, jumped to its highest since Feb. 12.
With utilities notching a 1.07 percent gain, it was poised to overtake the health sector, which was down 1.12 percent, as the best performing sector for the year. They are the only two among the 11 major sectors in the black for the year.

Earnings reports were also not encouraging.


Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.40-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 3.09-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 160 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded three new highs and 689 new lows.

Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup

Congrats if you made it to the end of the week. Smashed Avo, Egg and Tomato on Rye to sustain you along with a Coffee.



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