The share market failed to gain traction this morning as losses in defensive sectors offset tepid gains in cyclicals.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was two points or less than 0.1% lower at 5342 after swinging as high as 5354 and as low as 5334. Rallies in gold +1.7%, consumer discretionary +0.4%, the Small Ords +0.2% and financials +0.1% were undercut by falls in telecoms -0.3%, property trusts -0.3% and health -0.2%.
The market ignored overnight gains in the US and Europe after the White House warned that further sanctions are pending against Russia following its annexation of the Crimean peninsula. White House spokesman Jay Carney joked that investors should not "invest in Russian equities right now, unless you're going short".
Asian markets dropped quickly from their opening levels. China's Shanghai Composite was lately down 0.81%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng off 0.1% and Japan's Nikkei ahead 0.21% but off its high. Emini Dow futures were recently down five points or less than 0.1%.
Crude oil futures faded 24 cents this morning to US$99.36 a barrel. Spot gold was 80 cents firmer at US$1,356.30 an ounce. The dollar was buying 91.16 US cents.
A bit of heat has come back into the spec market this week. Been some big runs. Congratulations to Strauss for his win in DRK. Also welcome back Cgull from the birdhouse. Been a much more relaxed week this week compared to last. I had straightforward bounce wins this morning in BIT and SGP. Also took OBJ, still holding.
