Afternoon trading April 16

Thanks @shovel40, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Half-time wrap:

The share market reached the halfway mark on track for its weakest close in eight weeks following a second night of heavy selling in the US.

The ASX 200 slumped 142 points or 1.83% to 7611. A broad sell-off left no sector unscathed as investors battled a toxic mix of rising bond yields, doubts about inflation and interest rates, and fears of a full-blown war in the Middle East.

Miners and rate-sensitive property stocks and utilities were among the biggest drags as a five-month high in US treasury yields dragged Australian rates higher. The yield on 10-year Australian bonds was this morning testing this year's previous peak.

Today's plunge came in the wake of the S&P 500's largest two-day tumble in more than a year. The US benchmark dropped 1.2% overnight, adding to Friday's 1.46% dive.

Mixed Chinese economic data appeared to do little to improve spirits. While first-quarter GDP surprised to the upside, last month's factory production and retail sales were significantly weaker than economists had projected.


Personal trading: Plenty of ways to lose money this morning. I found a few. Got entries in CY5 and FND right for quick in-outs, but took PLL and INR too early. Needed two swings for a profit from W2V. Profit from MEM from yesterday. Another tiddler is dead in the water.