Thanks Brit and morning regulars. Half-time round-up: The share...

Thanks Brit and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

The share market slid towards a seventh straight loss this morning as traders weighed weak domestic consumer confidence, upbeat US equity futures and a cautious rebound in resource stocks.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 13 points or 0.2% lower at 5458. The index hit a new four-month low mid-morning and has given up more than 300 points over the last six trading days.  

The metals and mining sector rose 0.5% after marking an eight-week low in early trade. Other pockets of strength included energy +1.6%, gold +0.9% and the Small Ords +0.4%. Notable falls included health -1.2%, utilities -0.6% and telecoms -0.4%.

The dollar dipped half a cent ahead of a lunchtime speech by Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens after Westpac's consumer sentiment index recorded a sharp drop. The index declined a seasonally-adjusted 6.9% this month to 95.3, the lowest level since January. The dollar was lately buying 76.52 US cents.

"This is a surprisingly weak result. It now appears that last month's surge of optimism was a brief 'relief rally',"  Bill Evans, Westpac chief economist, told Fairfax.

Dow futures were recently ahead 31 points or almost 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite retreated 0.39% after index provider MSCI declined to add mainland companies to its global equity indices. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rallied 0.27% and Japan's Nikkei 0.38%.

Crude oil futures charged another 84 cents higher this morning to US$60.98 a barrel. Spot gold was 70 cents weaker at US$1,176.90 an ounce.


Good intraday volatility today. PIQ is swinging around like a pinata in a hurricane. I whacked it once for a few lollies but missed the second, more lucrative opportunity. CTO and VLA also gave fleeting bounce opportunities. I needed a good day today after finishing pretty much flat yesterday.