ASX opens lower as Bapcor tanks; Macquarie drops 4% on profit slide
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More news: Australian shares edged down at the open with gains in healthcare and energy stocks offset by broader market losses. Financial services giant Macquarie Group dropped 4.5% after reporting lower first-quarter profit and confirming that CFO Alex Harvey will step down this year.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 6.6 points, or 0.8%, to 8,730.6 at 10:40am AEST. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Auto parts supplier Bapcor was the worst performing ASX 200 company, tumbling 26.2% after warning of weaker-than-expected sales during the second half and seeing three board members quit on Wednesday.
Uranium miner Boss Energy fell 6.6% after announcing the departure of CEO Duncan Craib.
PEXA was the top performer, up 8.1% after securing a fresh commitment from its strategic partner NatWest. Mining giant Fortescue lifted 4.3% after setting a company record for annual iron ore shipments.
Australian shares to rise as US stocks surge on trade deal optimism
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher following a strong showing on Wall Street overnight, after the US reached a trade agreement with Japan and reports claimed the European Union was closing in on a similar deal.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 23 points, or 0.26%, to 8,721 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.14%, S&P 500 up 0.78%, and Nasdaq up 0.61%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 1.37%, DAX up 0.83%, and FTSE 100 up 0.42%
- Spot gold: down 1.29% to USD3,387 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.22% to USD68.66/bbl, and US WTI down 1.19% to USD65.42/bbl
- AUD: up 0.73% to 66.02 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.27% to USD117,644.
The context: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq marched to fresh record highs as reports claimed the US was close to sealing a trade agreement that would impose a 15% baseline tariff on most EU exports.
Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet and electric car maker Tesla were the first two of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech megacaps to report their second-quarter earnings.
Alphabet reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and saw shares climb 1.9% in after-hours trading. Tesla posted its sharpest drop in quarterly revenue in more than a decade, missing Wall Street estimates, with shares lowering 0.7% in extended trading.
