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

Thanks Brit and morning regulars.


Half-time round-up:

Shares plumbed a three-month low this morning as a flat trading result from Commonwealth Bank and the prospect that the latest rate easing cycle may be over fuelled a retreat from yield sectors.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was 84 points or 1.45% in the red at 5742 after touching an intraday low of 5716, the index's weakest point since February 3. CBA and WOW were the biggest drags on the index after their quarterly updates fell short of expectations, adding to downward pressure on the market following weak overnight leads and speculation that yesterday's RBA rate cut was the last of the year. The consumer staples sector slumped 2.2%, financials 2.3%, utilities 2.1%, consumer discretionary 1.9% and property trusts 1.6%. Metals & mining was the best of the sectors with a loss of 0.1%.

The pullback followed a 4.06% fall in China yesterday and overnight reversals in Europe and the US. This morning the Shanghai Composite bounced 1.33% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.81%. Japan's Nikkei remained closed. Dow futures were recently up 30 points or less than 0.2%.

“Markets are a little tired,” Wayne Wilbanks, chief investment officer at Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas Asset Management in the US, told Bloomberg. “Investors are starting to wake up to the reality that there’s not a whole lot of growth currently in the market. China is slowing down. What we have there is huge monetary stimulus which is causing this stock market semi-bubble.”

Crude oil futures extended overnight gains by 50 cents this morning to US$60.90 a barrel. Spot gold was $1.60 firmer at US$1,194.80 an ounce. The dollar was buying 79.63 US cents.


The ice is creaking beneath our feet. Problem is, so many people expect it to give way that it may not happen - market corrections tend to come when skating parties are in full swing, rather than when everyone is fretting and edging towards the sidelines. Definitely a two-speed market - metals & mining hit a two-month high yesterday and financials a three-month low this morning. If you were long one, short the other, you are laughing. Trading: went okay this morning but feel like I should have done better. MFG provided most of the earnings off the low. Needed two swings at APA to get a profit. Paltry part-fill in EMH. Watching AZK closely because the volume/range may offer a trade.