ASX sheds 1.2% as tech, banks plunge

The news: The Australian sharemarket fell for its third straight session following hefty selloffs in technology and banking stocks.

The ASX 200 fell 1.23% to end at 8,191.9, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing in red.

Biggest movers:

• Premier Investments (-15.6%) — Reported a slump in first-half sales and deteriorating performance from its Apparel Brands business, which is set to be acquired by department store chain Myer following a stakeholder vote next week. Citi called the "sudden cost increases" at the group "concerning".
• Myer (-22.3%) — Posted its own disappointing first-half trading update, with CEO Olivia Wirth bemoaning persistent cost-of-living pressures on retail consumers.
• NRW Holdings (-9.7%) — Announced the resignation of its chief financial officer Richard Simons. Long-serving finance executive Alexander Hall will move into the role temporarily while NRW kicks off a search process for Simons' permanent replacement.
• Star Entertainment (13.6%) — Ended the day as the best performer across the ASX 200, rebounding from a two-day selloff last week that sliced over 40% off its market value. The casino operator warned on Thursday that it only had $79 million in available cash at December-end, with Morningstar seeing a 50% probability that the company falls into administration.

Other news:

• Insignia Financial (2.7%) — Received a revised takeover proposal from US private equity giant Bain Capital, matching the offer tabled by rival suitor CC Capital Partners a week ago. The wealth manager said its board is considering the two offers in parallel, with no guarantee that either deal will materialise.
• Technology sector (-3.4%) — Life360 (-5.2%), WiseTech (-3.5%), NextDC (-3.5%), Technology One (-3.2%) and Xero (-3%) led a tech selloff, tracking declines on the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Friday.
• Financials sector (-2.1%) — Big four lenders Westpac (-2.5%), Commonwealth Bank (-2.3%), NAB (-2.1%) and ANZ (-1.6%) extended declines from Friday, following Morgan Stanley's bearish outlook on the Australian banking sector.
• Energy sector (1.8%) — Oil producers Karoon Energy (3.9%), Beach Energy (2.8%), Woodside Energy (2.3%), Santos (2.3%) and Ampol (0.2%) all advanced after crude reached a four-month high, fuelled by fresh US sanctions against Russia's energy industry. Uranium miners Paladin Energy (3.9%), Deep Yellow (2.9%) and Boss Energy (1.5%) also helped spur the energy rally.