The Australian sharemarket dived lower in the afternoon session as all sectors closed in the red. At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.4 per cent or 107 points lower at 7,324. Over the week, it lost 1.3 per cent or 92 points.
The worst-performing sector was real estate investment trusts, down 2.6 per cent. Communication services plummeted in the afternoon, down 2 per cent as the second worst. The fall was then followed by technology and financials, both down 1.8 per cent, then energy, down 1.5 per cent. The sector with the fewest losses was health care, down 0.1 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was GUD Holdings
(ASX:GUD), closing 6.9 per cent higher. The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
(ASX:URW), closing 6.2 per cent lower.
Energy stocks tumbled in the afternoon session, led by Oil Search
(ASX:OSH) closing 2.2 per cent lower and Santos
(ASX:STO) closing 1.5 per cent lower. Heavyweight miners all fell further, led by Rio
(ASX:RIO) closing 2.4 per cent lower as iron ore prices continued to trade 6 per cent lower. Gold miners Newcrest Mining
(ASX:NCM) and Northern Star
(ASX:NST) closed 1.5 and 2.6 per cent lower, while the building materials manufacturer Boral
(ASX:BLD) closed 3 per cent lower.
Major banks crumbled, led by NAB
(ASX:NAB) closing the lowest, down 2.3 per cent. Tech stocks also crumbled, with payment software Xero
(ASX:XRO) closing 3 per cent lower, WiseTech
(ASX:WTC) closing 2.1 per cent lower and Megaport
(ASX:MP1) closing 4.3 per cent lower. Retail and gambling stocks joined the fall. Wesfarmers
(ASX:WES) and Woolworths
(ASX:WOW) closed 1.6 and 1.4 per cent lower, while gambling giants Aristocrat
(ASX:ALL) and PointsBet
(ASX:PBH) closed 2.6 and 4.3 per cent lower.
Onto travel stocks, Qantas
(ASX:QAN) closed 1.6 per cent lower while Flight Centre
(ASX:FLT) closed 0.7 per cent lower. Toll operator Transurban Group
(ASX:TCL) closed 1.7 per cent lower after reaching a financial close on the WestConnex acquisition.
In headlines, ResMed
(ASX:RMD) closed 4.2 per cent higher on positive quarterly results. Origin Energy
(ASX:ORG) closed 1.4 per cent lower on its quarterly results and Macquarie group
(ASX:MQG) is in a trading halt.
Local economic newsThe Reserve Bank has released private sector credit for September. Over the month, it rose 0.6 per cent versus an expectations of 0.5 per cent and it's up 5.3 per cent over the year, on an expectation of 5.0 per cent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released their producer price index for the September quarter, so inflation at the business level. Final demand (excluding exports) rose 1.1 per cent this quarter and rose 2.9 per cent over the past twelve months.
The ABS also released their retails trade figures, so the monthly and quarterly estimates of turnover and volumes for retail businesses, including store and online sales. Figures rose 1.3 per cent month-on-month and rose 1.7 per cent compared with September 2020. It was the first monthly rise since May 2021, as the Delta outbreak took hold in parts of the country.
Company newsPlease join us for Stocks of the Hour
here. Medical equipment company ResMed
(ASX:RMD) has recorded an increase in revenue and profit for the September quarter, while a softer gross margin was also noted.
Origin Energy
(ASX:ORG) posted its September quarter results with an increase in revenue from its Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (APLNG) project as global commodity prices rebounded.
Macquarie Group
(ASX:MQG) has more than doubled its first-half profit to $2.04 billion and has announced a $1.5 billion capital raising in order to invest in new opportunities.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 52 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 18 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 116 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 112 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersAll sectors closed in the red. The sector with the fewest losses was Health Care, down 0.1 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Real Estate Investment Trusts, down 2.6 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was GUD Holdings
(ASX:GUD), closing 6.9 per cent higher at $12.20. It was followed by shares in Reece
(ASX:REH) and JB Hi-Fi
(ASX:JBH).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
(ASX:URW), closing 6.2 per cent lower at $4.82. It was followed by shares in PointsBet Holdings
(ASX:PBH) and Megaport
(ASX:MP1).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 0.1 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.5 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.2 per cent.
Wall StreetOver the last four trading days, the Dow Jones gained 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.1 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 2.3 per cent.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1793.98 an ounce.
Iron ore is 6.0 per cent lower at US$112.65 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 3.6 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.02 higher at US$82.83 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 75.45 US cents.
