Base Metals and Minerals

Last night the ECB made a startling move by injecting E95bn into the banking system as BNP Paribas froze three hedge funds through lack of liquidity. The Dow fell 387 points.

The Dow rose 153 points last night, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

A slowing economy on the back of the sub-prime crisis means the US no longer leads the world in base metal consumption, but an expected pick-up in coming months keeps Barclays positive on the sector.

It was a case of bad news can be good news on Wall Street as the Fed decided not to ease rates in the face of the credit crunch. The Dow pulled back losses to be up 35 points.

I was the biggest up-tick since October 2002, but traders remained unconvinced of the integrity of last night’s rally. Oil finally tipped over.

The Dow posted its second consecutive rally last night – the first time it has put two up-days together in three weeks.

Alumina may have delivered a result in line with guidance but it was guidance management had previously revised lower as costs continue to impact on earnings.

Wall Street traders could be forgiven for feeling nauseous at day’s end following a session dominated by extreme volatility, culminating in a strong rally in the final twenty minutes.

Early strength on Wall Street was killed off last night as a large mortgage lender announced trouble and the Fed declared the market was on its own.

Late buying in the Australian market was reflected on Wall Street as the Dow, too, opened lower but closed higher.