ASX shares open lower on broad selloff; Woolworths, Wesfarmers trade ex-dividend
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More news: Australian shares opened lower as nine of the 11 sectoral indices slipped into negative territory as a number of large companies traded ex-dividend.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 26.4 points, or 0.30%, to 8,901.3 at 10:30am AEST.
Consumer discretionary and staples stocks led losses, with both sectors down around 1.4%. Supermarket giant Woolworths (-2.5%), Bunnings and Kmart owner Wesfarmers (-2.4%) and Dan Murphy's and BWS operator Endeavour Group (-2.1%) were all among the worst performers on the ASX 200 as they traded ex-dividend.
Gold stocks rallied for the second straight session, with Ramelius Resources (+3%), Perseus Mining (+2%), and Regis Resources (+1.6%) climbing. IDP Education led ASX 200 gains as analysts took positives from the company's full-year results.
Australian shares to fall after Europe, Asia indices edge up
The news: Australian shares are set to open marginally lower this morning after stocks in Europe and Asia lifted overnight. Wall Street was closed due to the Labor Day public holiday in the US.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 8 points to 8,886
- Wall Street: closed
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.05%, DAX up 0.57% and FTSE 100 up 0.10%
- Spot gold: up 0.82% to USD3,476 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent flat at USD68.16/bbl and US WTI up 0.94% to USD64.61/bbl
- AUD: up 0.15% to 65.53 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.26% to USD108,526.
The context: Europe's broad STOXX 600 rose 0.2% driven by positivity on improved manufacturing data, while Hong Kong listed shares of Chinese tech giant Alibabar rocketed 18.5% after it said AI boosted revenue to its cloud business.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures contracts edged 0.2% higher ahead of a week of crucial data releases, including surveys of manufacturing and services, and the August payrolls report on Friday.
