ASX falls on disappointing inflation figures
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The news: The Australian sharemarket fell on the back of hotter-than-expected inflation figures released today.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 dropped 1.3% to end the trading day at 7,665.6, with all 11 sectors finishing in red.
The sharemarket started the day weaker after a mixed session on Wall Street, and then sharply sold off following the release of inflation figures that showed April was the second month in a row where annual inflation experienced a small increase.
Consumer staples (-2.08%), industrials (1.87%) and financials (-1.74%) were the worst performing sectors.
Insurer IAG fell 3.28% after it disclosed to the market late Tuesday that it faced a class action over misleading home insurance customers.
Despite receiving positive notes from analysts on its strategy to offload billions worth of assets, Lendlease shares fell 2.08%. The company also announced today that it was set to sell its US east coast construction operations to Consigli.
The best-performing sectors were IT (-0.47%) energy (-0.6%) and materials (0.7%).
Five of the top 10 performing shares today were gold companies, including Genesis Minerals (4.05%), Sandfire Resources (2.21%), Capricorn Metals (2.56%), West African Resources (1.72%) and Bellevue Gold (1.84%). While gold prices continued to gain due to a weakness in the US dollar, raised expectations for a US interest rate cut and intensifying geopolitical risks in Russia and the Middle East, investors also tend to pour into gold during market downturns.
ASX oil majors managed to stem large losses today after global oil prices advanced due to heightened tensions in the Middle East. Woodside (0.4%), Santos (-0.65%) and Ampol (-0.62%) all fell.
Fisher & Paykel was the best ASX 200 performer, up 4.17%, after reporting growth in operating revenue and underlying profit.
Data#3 gained 2.29% after Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the company to ‘overweight’ and hiked its price target.
Elsewhere, New Zealand dairy company Fonterra finished 4.96% higher after lifting its forecast for full-year earnings due to higher sales volume and rising milk prices.
The Australian dollar is higher, buying 66.54 US cents.
The context: Overnight will see BHP hit its deadline regarding its takeover proposal for Anglo American. BHP today requested an extension on the deadline after proposing several socio-economic initiatives in South Africa.
Thursday will see AGMs for Life360 and Sigma, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest building approval figures.
