ASX falls as energy drags on oil price tumble
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket fell as the energy sector dragged after oil prices tumbled to a four-month low.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 finished 0.31% lower at 7,737.1, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
Energy was the worst-performing sector, down 1.62%, followed by materials (-0.89%) and IT (-0.7%). Oil prices tumbled to their lowest in nearly four months as investors worried that a complicated OPEC+ output decision could lead to higher supplies later in the year, even though demand growth has been slow.
Karoon Energy (-4.2%), Beach Energy (-2.53%), Viva Energy (-2.02%), Woodside Energy (-1.76%), Santos (-2.09%) and Ampol (-0.55%) were all down.
Lovisa shares continued Monday’s fall, down 1.68%, following the announcement of its CEO’s departure next year, while analysts were mixed on the news.
The best-performing sector was financials, up 0.23%, followed by consumer staples (0.19%) and healthcare (0.09%).
Life360 was one of the top ASX 200 performers, up 2.11% after it launched its initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
Lendlease ended 0.09% higher, despite Morningstar analysts removing it from their 'Best Stock Ideas' list after the real estate group unveiled its strategy to offload billions of dollars worth of assets.
Meanwhile, EBOS Group gained 1.76% after the medical product wholesaler and distributor announced Andrew McClean as the new CEO of its medical technology division.
The Australian dollar is lower, buying 66.67 US cents.
The context: Overnight will see the latest US jobs openings figures, which will be considered by the US Federal Reserve in its next interest rate decision.
On Wednesday, all eyes will be on the release of Australia’s latest GDP figures.
