ASX falls as oil prices drag on energy stocks
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The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower as financials and energy stocks dragged down the market.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.3% to end at 7,987.9, with six out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was financials, down 1.46%, followed by energy (-1.41%) after a softening demand forecast pulled down oil prices to their lowest level since December 2021. Oil and gas majors Woodside Energy (-2.46%), Santos (-1.16%), Ampol (-0.55%) and Beach Energy (-0.46%) all closed lower.
Karoon Energy fell 2.71% as it announced the temporary closure of its Who Dat project due to the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Francine in Louisiana this week.
NextDC was the worst performer across the ASX 200, its shares tumbling 5.55% after the data centre operator completed a $550 million placement as part of a capital raising to help acquire new data centres across Asia.
REA Group shares fell 2.46% after it confirmed that the board of UK property portal Rightmove had rejected its takeover bid.
Namoi Cotton shares fell 2.19% after independent directors backflipped on their recommendation in the company’s takeover tussle between Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and Olam Agri. They have now thrown their support behind LDC.
The best performing sector was materials, up 1.67%, followed by utilities (0.58%). Lithium miners rallied after the EU signalled increased investment in Australian critical minerals, and as battery electric vehicle sales hit fresh highs in August.
Lithium miners made up the five of the six best performing ASX 200 stocks. Mineral Resources (16.47%), Liontown Resources (15.57%), Pilbara Minerals (13.77%), Arcadium Lithium (11.15%) and IGO (5.11%) all advanced.
Mineral Resources shares rocketed after the Foreign Investment Review Board approved the sale of its interest in its Onslow Iron project's haul road.
Bloomberg reported that the boost in lithium stocks could also be attributed to speculation that Chinese battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology had halted production at a major mine.
Newmont shares rose 0.87% after it agreed to sell the Telfer gold and copper mine and its 70% stake in the Haveiron project to London-listed Greatland Gold
Deep Yellow gained 3.52% after the uranium explorer upgraded its mineral resource estimate at its flagship Tumas project in Namibia.
Shares in Infratil advanced 1.63% while Contact Energy edged 0.27% lower, after the former backed Contact's proposed acquisition of its majority owned electricity company Manawa Energy.
Goodman Group ended 1.05% higher after Jarden analysts upgraded their rating on the company to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral.
DroneShield shares increased 0.81% after it won a repeat order from a US government customer for $3.1 million for a number of its counterdrone systems.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.61 US cents.
The context: Tonight will see the latest US CPI figures released ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting later this month.
Thursday will see the latest household spending figures published by the Commonwealth Bank.
The source: Bloomberg
