At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.63 per cent lower at 7,213.80. This drop was primarily influenced by the materials and healthcare sectors.
During the late afternoon trading session, the major mining companies witnessed significant declines due to the decrease in iron ore futures. Iron ore futures on the Singapore stock exchange experienced a 2.6 per cent decrease, amounting to $147.48 (US$97.35) per tonne for the June contract.
As a result, BHP Group
(ASX:BHP) shares declined by 2.2 per cent, Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) dropped by 4.1 per cent, Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) lost 2.2 per cent, and Mineral Resources
(ASX:MIN) fell by 3 per cent.
Conversely, gold stocks exhibited a rally during this period. West African Resource
(ASX:WAF) performed exceptionally well, surging by 4.7 per cent. Bellevue
(ASX:BGL) shares increased by 2.4 per cent, Capricorn Metals
(ASX:CMM) saw a rise of 2.1 per cent, and Regis Resources
(ASX:RRL) added 1.5 per cent.
Webjet
(ASX:WEB) experienced a significant jump of 3.8 per cent after reporting a remarkable 164 per cent boost in revenue for FY23.
Furthermore, Qantas
(ASX:QAN) shares rebounded from the losses of the previous day, showing an increase of 1.9 per cent.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 8 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 0.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 5.5 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 51 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Energy, up 0.7 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.66 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Qantas Airways
(ASX:QAN), closing 1.89 per cent higher at $6.48. It was followed by shares in Lynas Rare Earths
(ASX:LYC) and Santos
(ASX:STO).
The worst-performing large cap was Fortescue Metals Group
(ASX:FMG), closing 4.06 per cent lower at $19.62. It was followed by shares in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation
(ASX:FPH) and Mineral Resources
(ASX:MIN).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has lost 0.84 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.23 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 1.26 per cent.
Company newsLeo Lithium
(ASX:LLL) has announced that further drilling at their Goulamina Lithium Project has delivered thick, high grade mineralisation. MD Simon Hay commented, “With drilling continuing, we remain on track to update the Mineral Resource Estimate in late June and release a reserve upgrade in August.” Shares closed 4.64 per cent higher at 79.5 cents.
Empire Energy
(ASX:EEG) announced that their Carpentaria-2H well in the Beetaloo Basin delivers strong gas flow rates. Comments from Managing Director Alex Underwood: “We are pleased to share the continued strong gas flow rates achieved at C-2H as they provide further confidence that an economic development in EP187 may be achievable.” Shares closed flat at 17 cents.
Immutep
(ASX:IMM) announces promising new clinical data from the triple combination therapy in INSIGHT-003 trial. Immuteps’ Chief Scientific Officer stated, “Immutep has made significant progress with our late-stage development planning to treat one of the largest cancer indications globally.” Shares closed 6 per cent higher at 35 cents.
Cauldron Energy
(ASX:CXU) announced that Program of Works, comprising of drilling at the Yanrey Uranium Project has been approved by DMIRS. CEO Jonathan Fisher commented: “We are excited to get approval for the Yanrey drill program, which will be the first for a number of years. We also look forward to further evaluating the area in which anomalous Rare Earth Elements (REEs), such as Ce, La and Nb, were reported historically.” Shares closed 16.7 per cent higher at 0.7 cents.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,980.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.3 per cent lower at US$102.40 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 3.9 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.90 higher at US$73.81 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.90 US cents.
