ASX falls to six-month low

The news: The Australian sharemarket tumbled below 7000 for the first time since March, as hawkish Fed rhetoric and surging long-term bond yields sent a clear message of higher interest rates for longer. The benchmark ASX 200 shed 1.28%, closing at 6,943.40, while the All Ordinaries fell 1.31%. The Aussie dollar tumbled 0.7% against the Greenback over the session, and is fetching 63.1 US cents. New Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock kept rates at 4.10% in her first rate meeting in the top job, but meeting analysts' expectations was not enough to buoy sentiment.

The numbers: Almost all sectors finished in the red, with energy stocks (-3.7), utilities (-2.9%) and materials (-2.2%), real estate (-2.2) all shedding more than two percentage points. Woodside, Santos and Whitehaven Coal all lost more than 3.5% as Brent Crude eased below USD90, and is currently fetching USD89.62 per barrel. BHP lost just under 2%, and Forestcue (-1.3%), Rio Tinto (-1.79%) and Mineral Resources (-5.2%) all finished weaker.

The context: Tomorrow the senate committee on economics will hear evidence on its inquiry into ASIC investigation and enforcement. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand release its interest rate decision tomorrow at midday AEST, with analysts expecting the central bank to hold the cash rate at 5.50%. US job opening data will be released at 1am AEST tomorrow morning.