ASX sinks to four month lows as Technology One, Catapult lead tech rout
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: The ASX 200 had fallen to its lowest in more than four months as the tech sector led losses across every sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 110 points, or 1.37%, at 1:08pm AEDT, with 10 of the 11 sectoral indices in the red.
Technology One (-17%) and Catapult Sports (-10.3%) led losses on the ASX 200 despite positive earnings results as the tech sector (-5.8%) continued an extended selloff. WiseTech Global (-5%), Xero (-3.9%), NextDC (-3.3%) and Life360 (-3.8%) were also lower.
The materials sector (-2.1%) also fell as BHP (-3%), FMG (-1.8%) and Rio Tinto (-2.4%) tracked lower.
This is despite gains for James Hardie (+6.9%) after releasing second quarter earnings and upgrading full-year guidance, as well as appointing a new chair and chief financial officer. Lithium producers Liontown Resources (+5.8%), Pilbara Minerals (+3.7%) and IGO (+1%) were also among the biggest gainers.
Australian shares to fall after Wall Street slides ahead of Nvidia result
The news: Australian shares are set to open weaker this morning after major US indexes dropped more than 1% overnight, as investors turned cautious ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and delayed economic data following the US government shutdown.
The numbers: Updated at 7:15am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 83 points or 1% to 8,576
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.4%, S&P 500 down 1.2% and Nasdaq down 1.3%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.61%, DAX down 1.20% and FTSE 100 down 0.24%
- Spot gold: down 1.4% to USD4,027.07 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.5% to USD64.06/bbl
- Iron ore: up 1.6% to USD104.25/tonne
- AUD: down 0.8% to US64.85c
- Bitcoin: down 3% to USD91,533
The context: Nvidia fell 2.8% ahead of its earnings on Wednesday, with options markets pricing a 6.5% move either side as reaction to the result. The S&P 500 broke below its 50-day moving average after a 138-session streak, according to Bloomberg data. Alphabet gained 4.4% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a USD4.93 billion stake, and Dell plunged 9.4% after a double downgrade by Morgan Stanley.
Locally, investors await earnings from ALS, TechnologyOne, Webjet and Plenti, along with the RBA’s meeting minutes.
The sources: Bloomberg, Australian Financial Review, The Wall Street Journal
