Thanks Cornelius. Half-time round-up:Shares slid to a one-week...

Thanks Cornelius.

Half-time round-up:

Shares slid to a one-week low this morning as the big banks continued to retreat from record levels and Woolworths' latest trading update drew a thumbs-down from the market.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was trading 13 points or 0.2% weaker at 5474 as gains in defensive and resource sectors were offset by declines in financials -0.7%, consumer staples 1.3% and industrials -0.3%. A 2.26% decline in WOW shares accounted for much of the weakness in consumer staples. Other defensive sectors rallied, including telecoms +0.9%, health +0.9% and utilities +0.4%.

Asian markets were mixed ahead of the outcomes from central bank meetings today in Japan and the US. China's Shanghai Composite rallied 0.41%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.81% and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.21%. Dow futures were recently down 14 points or less than 0.1%.

"We don't expect much from the two central banks as nothing much has changed since the last meetings," Keith Poore, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg. "While earnings have been good, Asian investors are waiting to see a bit more recovery in China before optimism can return."

Crude oil futures dived another 38 cents this morning to US$100.43 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.90 lower at US$1,294.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 92.82 US cents.


And the market retrace continues. Trading volume picked up a bit yesterday as the market returned to normal after the Easter/Anzac slowdown. Congrats to OBJ holders - one of the few shares to go on with a breakout this year. I took a lot of swings at a lot of shares this morning but only got a fill in WSA, KAR and GUD. Profit taken on the former. Hoping for a bounce in the latter similar to yesterday.