The lowdown: The sharemarket followed Wall Street’s shaky lead as markets attempt to react to an economic cocktail of red-hot inflation, recession risks, ongoing supply chain issues and record low unemployment.

Data in the US showed the job market had roared back to pre-pandemic levels. More than half a million jobs were added in July alone, mostly in leisure, hospitality, business services and healthcare. The stronger-than-predicted report firms up investor expectations of further rate rises by the central bank.

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There was optimism overnight from China as the nation reported an 18 per cent surge in the value of its exports in July to a record $US101 billion ($145.3 billion) surplus. But the resulting jump in iron and copper prices won’t last, warned Commonwealth Bank commodities strategist Vivek Dhar.

“If we’re talking about a rebound in copper, it’s going to be conditional on China’s COVID-zero policy being reversed, and we really only see a possibility of that after the National Congress in November [and] after Xi Jinping is voted in for his next term,” Dhar told AFR.

Bloomberg economist Eric Zhu also said the surging export value would not last.

“With such pent-up shipments fading, exports are poised to slow over the rest of the year - eroding a key cushion for growth and leaving the economy more vulnerable to pressures from the property turmoil and COVID-zero shackles,” Zhi said.

As materials and energy rallied on the local sharemarket on Monday, consumer discretionary was the sector deepest in the red.

The sector fell before the next instalment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ household spending indicator, which uses bank transaction data to sample what consumers are spending money on. Last month’s indicator showed a plateau in household spending and a decline in discretionary spending.

Tweet of the day:

Quote of the day: ”We are mining minerals that are in strong demand for global electrification and decarbonisation ... and we have a long-life resource and reserve base ... We do not consider the proposal from BHP sufficiently recognises these attributes,” said Oz Minerals chief Andrew Cole after the company’s rejected BHP’s $8.4 billion offer, sending share prices soaring.

You may have missed: Lumos Diagnostics, a biotech company that listed on the ASX last year, axed plans to build a Victorian manufacturing plant for rapid antigen tests after the company told the state government it doesn’t have the resources to commit to the plan.

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