ASX tumbles to worst day since February
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The news: The Australian sharemarket had its worst day since mid-February as investors pulled back amid uncertainty with interest rate cut expectations and an escalation in the Middle East conflict.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX200 fell 0.98% to 7,567.3, with all sectors finishing in red. This was the market’s worst day since 14 February when the index closed at 7,547.7.
The worst performing sector was IT, down 1.55%, followed by real estate (-1.44%) and financials (-1.13%). Large IT company Wisetech (-2.75%) lead falls, followed by Xero (-2.32%)
Karoon Energy was one of the worst performers across the ASX 200, down 4.96%, after the Brazil-focused oil and gas company lowered its expected production guidance.
Pilbara Minerals (-2.3%) also fell after posting its quarterly results that said its revenue dropped amid lower lithium prices despite a lift in production and sales. Gold Road Resources finished 0.93% lower after heavy rainfall led to a drop in its March quarter output.
Meanwhile, Woodside ended down 0.24% after recording a fall in its March quarter output and sales.
The best performing sector was energy, down 0.09%, followed by healthcare (-0.51%) and utilities (-0.62%). Santos was one of the top performers across the ASX 200, gaining 1.69%.
Whitehaven also gained 0.13% despite reporting a drop in March quarter production and sales but said it was eyeing gains from its recent acquisition.
Oil and gold prices spiked following initial reports of an attack on Iran by Israel’s military, with Brent crude briefly jumping above $90 a barrel before paring some of those gains by the end of the trading day.
Four out of the five top performing stocks across the ASX 200 were gold companies including Genesis Minerals (3.01%), Perseus Mining (1.76%), Evolution Mining (1.63%) and Northern Star Resources (1.57%).
The Australian dollar is lower buying US64.01 cents.
The context: Next week the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest CPI figures that the Reserve Bank will be closely looking at to make its next monetary policy decision.
Offshore, the US figures for manufacturing purchasing managers index, quarterly GDP, unemployment claims, and core personal consumption expenditures index will be released while the Bank of Japan makes its latest monetary policy decision.
