ASX falls sharply in worst day since March 2023
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The news: The Australian sharemarket had its worst day since March 2023, tracking sharp losses on Wall Street that followed data pointing to a slowing US economy, along with weak earnings from large tech companies including Intel, Atlassian and Amazon.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 2.11% to end at 7,943.2, with all 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst sector was consumer discretionary, down 3%, followed by AREITs (-2.89%).
Uranium producers Deep Yellow (-18.85%), Boss Energy (-12.88%) and Paladin Energy (-11.28%) plunged during trading and were the worst performers across the ASX 200. This followed an announcement from the world’s top uranium producer, Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, that it raised its production guidance for 2024.
The big four banks NAB (-4.07%), Commonwealth Bank (-3.19%) Westpac (-2.69%) and ANZ (-1.92%) all dropped as Morgan Stanley analysts flagged that they were overvalued after outperforming the market in July.
Star Entertainment fell 2.61% after the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) extended the appointment of the group’s external manager Nicholas Weeks until 31 March 2025.
ResMed shares fell 1.73%, losing early gains after it lifted its fourth-quarter revenue and expanded margins on the back of demand and higher prices for its sleep apnea treatment devices.
Iress lost 0.85% as it announced the sale of its UK mortgages business to private equity firm Bain Capital had completed.
The best performing sector was utilities, down 0.06%, followed by consumer staples (-1.26%).
Afterpay parent Block’s shares rose 4.94% after it raised its full-year earnings forecast and boosted its share buyback program. It was the best performer across the ASX 200.
Pinnacle Investment Management gained 4.74% after its NPAT and funds under management for FY24 beat consensus.
Meanwhile, Johns Lyng ended flat after announcing that it would acquire strata management company SSKB Strata and air conditioning specialists Chill-Rite HVAC.
The Australian dollar is higher, buying 65.2 US cents.
The context: Tonight will see the latest US unemployment figures released.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia make its next interest rate decision.
Earnings season continues next week with Argo, Arcadium Lithium, Coronado Global, News Corp, Mirvac, Charter Hall LW REIT, Transurban, AMP, Avita Medical, Nick Scali, REA Group, QBE and Life 360 reporting.
