End of Day – Tue 15 Mar

• The ASX 200 dropped 52 points to 7097 (0.7%) as bifurcation of banks and miners the focus. Commodity stocks under pressure across the board as China growth fears stalk the market. Iron ore stocks weaker as Dalian futures fall again, BHP down 4.2% and FMG off 4.9%. RIO off 3.9% following its bid for Turquoise Hill. Lithium and base metal stocks in the doghouse, PLS down 7.6%, IGO down 6.3% and S32 off 4.5%. Gold miners too under pressure, NCM fell 2.8%, NST down 2.7% and EVN weaker by 2.0%. Oil and gas stocks also falling as WTI dropped below US$100, WPL down 2.9% with STO giving up 4.1%. Across the valley in the banks, higher bond yields gave bank buyers more reasons to buy. The Big Bank Basket rose to $184.60 (1.3%). CBA up 1.8% and WBC out ahead of the pack. Insurers too doing well, QBE up 1.6% and SUN getting a double whammy hit up 2.8%. 
• Industrials mostly unchanged, CSL better by 0.2%, AMC up 2.9% as packaging inputs dropped back slightly. Tech mixed with SQ2 down another 5.2%, WTC down 2.9% and the All-Tech Index off slightly as CPU rallied 1.7% to save some face. 
• In corporate news, UWL returned from a trading halt after Morrison and Co have launched a takeover bid at 450c, rising 27.3%, HLS launched a $100m on market buy back. Asian markets weaker with Japan up 0.4%, China down 1.8% and HK off 3% again. 

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