ASX edges lower as energy drags
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The news: The Australian sharemarket edged lower, tracking small Wall Street losses after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said monetary policy needed to be restrictive for longer.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 finished down 0.09% to 7,605.6, with six out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst-performing sector was energy, down 0.49%, followed by healthcare (-0.48%) and materials (-0.38%). Woodside fell 1.14% ahead of its quarterly results due on Friday while Santos fell 0.64% ahead of its results on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto shares fell 0.19% after it reported a drop in first-quarter iron ore production and shipments.
One of the worst stocks across the ASX was Dubber, which plummeted 71.82% after its month-and-a-half-long suspension from trading lifted today. The company also opened the retail component of its capital raise aimed at recouping $26.6 million in lost company funds.
The best-performing sector was utilities, up 2.84%, followed by consumer discretionary (0.42%) and IT (0.35%). Performance among the largest utility companies was mixed, with gains from Origin Energy (2.61%), APA Group (1.34%) and AGL Energy (6.13%).
The best-performing stock across the ASX 200 was Evolution Mining (8.14%) after investors cheered the company’s quarterly results, which saw strong cash generation and gold production.
Bank of Queensland, meanwhile, enjoyed gains of 5.17% despite its cash earnings falling 33% as it beat consensus expectations of a 37% drop, while Viva Energy gained 1.44% on its solid first-quarter results.
Lynas Rare Earths rose 6.08% after it was announced late Tuesday that Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting had increased its stake to 5.82%.
Meanwhile, DroneShield surged 17.46% after its Belgium and Luxembourg partner secured a deal with NATO.
Alpha HPA (6.37%) and Renascor Resources (26.51%) both enjoyed gains after the government announced new loans for the critical mineral companies.
The context: Thursday will see the Australian Bureau of Statistics release the latest labour force figures, while the Reserve Bank of Australia releases its latest quarterly RBA Bulletin.
Quarterly results are expected from AMP, BHP, Challenger, Santos and The Lottery Corporation on Thursday.
The US Department of Labor will also release its unemployment figures Thursday evening.
