ASX tumbles 1.8% as materials drag
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The news: The Australian sharemarket tumbled on Monday, as gains made on Friday’s record high close were wiped out as investors followed Wall Street’s losses.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 1.82% to 7,704.2, with all 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was materials, down 2.56%, followed by financials (-2.17) and energy (-2.07%). Large material companies all fell as iron ore slumped with Rio Tinto falling 3.55%, followed by Fortescue (-3.51%) and BHP Group (-2.69%)
Today, iron ore fell 5% as soft demand in China left the market with bulging inventories, according to Bloomberg.
The big four also suffered losses with Westpac falling the most, down 3.07%, followed by NAB (-2.79%), Commonwealth Bank (-2.68%), and ANZ (-2.08%).
Major oil companies also fell as oil prices extended last week’s losses due to softening demand in China. Woodside was down 2.42%, as was Santos (-2.06%), Ampol (-1.84%), Origin Energy (-1.23%), Viva Energy (-1.72%), and Beach Energy (-2.33%).
Uranium developer Deep Yellow ended Monday down 3.92%, after it announced that it looked to raise $250 million to help advance development of its Tumas project and to allow it to commit to its growth strategy.
Capricorn Metals also fell (-3.26%), after the gold producer said that heavy rainfall in Western Australia impeded its production volumes for the March quarter.
The best performing sector was IT, down 0.33%, with big player Xero up 0.18%.
Rex Airlines enjoyed gains today, up 4.04%, after announcing that it had made an interline agreement with Etihad.
MC Mining was up 10.35% as investors cheered a rival takeover bid by Vulcan Resources. Last month, the coal explorer knocked back a buyout offer from Goldway Capital Investment.
The context: All eyes will be on the latest US consumer price index figures that will be released tomorrow as the US Federal Reserve moves closer to cutting interest rates.
The source: Bloomberg
