At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2 per cent lower at 7,283.80, marking the second consecutive day of losses.
While banks saw some gains, the mining and real estate sectors faced selling pressure.
Ansell
(ASX:ANN), a prominent rubber gloves manufacturer, experienced a significant drop of 14% due to concerns about rising costs impacting its profits in the upcoming financial year 2024.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 8 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 3 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 21.75 points.
The SPI futures are down 22 points.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Health Care, up 0.93 per cent. The worst-performing sector was REITs, down 1.43 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was AGL Energy
(ASX:AGL), closing 2.79 per cent higher at $11.80. It was followed by shares in CSL
(ASX:CSL) and National Australia Bank
(ASX:NAB).
The worst-performing large cap was Aurizon Holdings
(ASX:AZJ), closing 5 per cent lower at $3.80. It was followed by shares in IGO
(ASX:IGO) and Aristocrat Leisure
(ASX:ALL).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 0.32 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.92 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.93 per cent.
Company newsABx Group
(ASX:ABX) announced that their REE Mineral Resource increased by 30% to 27 million tonnes. MD and CEO Mark Cooksey said in response, “Our northernmost discovery hole, located 5km NE of Deep Leads, could become our best prospect because it is 11 metres thick and enriched in permanent magnet rare earths, especially Dy and Tb.” Shares closed flat at 10 cents.
Lumos Diagnostics
(ASX:LDX) has signed an agreement with Henry Schein Medical, S.L.U. for the FebriDx® point-of-care test. In response, Doug Ward, CEO of Lumos Diagnostics, “With our recent US clearance and the growing commercial interest in FebriDx, we are now preparing production of FebriDx to meet the anticipated growing demand for the product.” Shares closed flat at 7.7 cents.
OD6 Metals
(ASX:OD6) announced a Maiden Mineral Resource estimate for its Splinter Rock Rare Earth Project. Brett Hazelden, Managing Director, commented: “With less than 5% of our clay basin area tested and phase three drilling underway, over the next 6 to 18 months there is significant potential to grow the resource base by applying our geometallurgical exploration techniques.” Shares closed 8.9 per cent higher at 24.5 cents.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,961.50 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.6 per cent lower at US$115.05 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.65 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.10 higher at US$74.25 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.21 US cents.
