ASX falls as CBA declines and investors sell consumer stocks
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The news: The Australian sharemarket sold off sharply after a weak quarterly update from index heavyweight CBA and as consumer discretionary stocks tumbled due to concerns cost of living pressures are impacting retail conditions.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 1.06% to 7,721.6 with eight out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was consumer discretionary, down 2.56%, followed by financials (-1.71%) and AREITs (-1.28%). Large discretionary company JB Hi-Fi fell 4.54% after reporting a drop in third quarter sales citing challenging retail conditions, while Temple & Webster plunged 17.83% despite reiterating its full-year earnings guidance.
Commonwealth Bank fell 1.97% after posting a drop in third quarter cash profit, while Perpetual dropped 1.79% continuing its slide following its announcement that KKR would acquire its corporate trust and wealth arms. Analysts said a standalone Perpetual funds management business would be exposed to greater earnings volatility. Judo Bank ended flat after flagging an increase in bad debts.
Westfield-owner Scentre Group fell 2.17% after flagging higher costs following the attack at Westfield Bondi last month.
News Corp finished 3.66% lower after reporting that lower advertising spend led to a downturn in revenue and net income for the March quarter while Aussie Broadband fell 1.54% after announcing that it received approval to increase its stake in telco rival Superloop.
One of the worst performers across the ASX 200 was Neuren Pharmaceuticals, down 4.18%, after reporting that sales of its drug Daybue fell short of its guidance.
Elsewhere, Light & Wonder decreased 0.08% despite reporting higher-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
The best performing sector was energy, up 0.56%, followed by utilities (0.3%) and consumer staples (0.09%). Rising crude prices sent ASX oil stocks higher with large energy companies Woodside (1.04%) and Santos (0.66%) finishing up.
REA Group gained 0.15% after the property sales platform reported strong growth, while Orica increased 0.33% after lifting its half-year profit.
The Australian dollar is lower buying 65.7 US cents.
The context: Tonight the Bank of England will announce its latest monetary policy decision.
Friday will see the Australian Bureau of Statistics release its latest monthly business turnover figures.
