ASX starts lower as lithium stocks tumble
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More news: Australian shares opened lower as lithium stocks led early losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 21.6 points, or 0.24%, to 8,755.6 at 10:30am AEST. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices were in negative territory.
Lithium miners Pilbara Miners (-6.4%), Mineral Resources (-5.1%), Liontown Resources (-4.6%) and IGO (-2.9%) made up four of the five worst performers on the ASX 200.
The fall came after media reports claimed that Chinese authorities approved reserve reports from major lithium producers CATL and Gotion High-Tech operating in the mining hub of Yichun.
Mining giant BHP was 1.6% lower after China’s state-run iron ore buyer ordered steelmakers and traders to suspend purchases of all new BHP cargoes.
Utilities was the best performing sector in early trading, up 0.8%, boosted by New Zealand energy retailers Mercury NZ (+2.8%) and Meridian Energy (+2.3%) who earlier welcomed New Zealand government reforms to the local electricity market.
Australian shares to fall as traders brace for US govt shutdown
The news: Australian shares are set to lower at the open after US stocks eked out gains during a choppy session overnight, as US President Donald Trump threatened "irreversible" actions ahead of an impending federal government shutdown.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 25 points to 8,825
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.18%, S&P 500 up 0.41% and Nasdaq up 0.30%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.19%, DAX up 0.57% and FTSE 100 up 0.54%
- Spot gold: up 0.65% to USD3,858 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.48% at USD66.10/bbl and US WTI down 1.61% to USD62.43/bbl
- AUD: up 0.54% to 66.11 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.01% to USD114,411.
The context: Wall Street's three main indices closed higher, marking the fifth straight monthly gain for the S&P 500 and the Dow, and the sixth straight monthly gain for the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 added 3.53% in September, with the Nasdaq up 5.61% and the Dow up 1.87%.
The latest rally came during a chopping session on Wall Street, as investors braced for a US government shutdown, which could delay key economic reports and impact the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy outlook.
