The Australian sharemarket continued to underwhelm after lunchtime, as sell-offs of utilities and energy stocks caused the ASX200 to enter a descent. Travel and aviation stocks were among the firsts to brace for impact from the Federal Budget, as possible extended border closures caused airline operators Qantas and Alliance Aviation to lose altitude on the market by 3.2 and 0.7 per cent by the close of trade.
Telcos joined tech stocks in the resistance effort against the broader decline and inflation anxieties, as Communications Services and Infotech ended the day as the only two sectors in the black. Telecommunications giants Telstra and TPG helped to decelerate the broader decline, tracking 0.9 and 3.1 per cent higher respectively in the last hour of today’s session
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.73 per cent or 52.10 points lower at 7045.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 179.00 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 18.75 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 80.25 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 38 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 0.7 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Utilities, down 2.2 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Resolute Mining
(ASX:RSG), closing 6.4 per cent higher. It was followed by shares in Nearmap
(ASX:NEA) and CSR
(ASX:CSR).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Ausnet
(ASX:AST), closing 7.7 per cent lower. It was followed by shares in Pointsbet Holdings
(ASX:PBH) and Pilbara Minerals
(ASX:PLS).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has lost 1.48%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.13%.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.26%.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1831 an ounce.
Light crude is steady lower at US$63.66 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 78.02 US cents.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 3 per cent
