Thanks Brit and morning crew.
Half-time round-up:
The ASX headed towards its third losing week of the month as continuing pressure on the big miners and the big banks largely offset positive overnight leads.
At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was two points or less than 0.1% ahead at 4884 and on track for a weekly loss of more than 100 points or 2% following heavy falls through the middle of the week as BHP's earnings disappointed and overseas economists warned bank stocks may be exposed to a housing bubble.
The metals & mining sector fell 1.3% this morning and financials 0.1%. A two-speed market saw solid gains in gold +2.1%, IT +1.4%, consumer staples +1.2% and industrials +0.4%. The early weakness came despite healthy advances in Europe and the US overnight.
"The tone across equity markets was generally better overnight,” Cameron Bagrie, chief economist at ANZ Bank New Zealand, told
Bloomberg. “Amidst market turbulence there is a call to arms for the G-20 to get the global economy back on track. Markets are stressed and vulnerable but it’s not yet a crisis. We continue to beat the macroeconomic reform drum as a necessary condition for improvement.”
Asian markets improved. China's Shanghai Composite bounced 0.56%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.76% and Japan's Nikkei 0.89%. Dow futures were recently off nine points or 0.05%.
Crude oil futures dropped 26 cents this morning to US$32.81 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.20 weaker at US$1,237.60 an ounce. The dollar was buying 72.49 US cents.
The ASX is friendless this week. Under-performed global peers in Europe, the US, Japan - pretty much everywhere except China, which marches to its own unfathomable beat. BHP is on the nose again and the big banks are back under the spotlight over the housing market. Likely international selling/shorting. We've been here before. Crude coming off a bit now hasn't helped. Trading: needed two swings at BLT to get a win, but got there in the end. Small speculator in POS for when the tip-sheet sell recommendation selling exhausts itself. Also ahead on a low-volume tiddler unworthy of a mention here.
