ASX starts lower as CBA drops; BHP, lithium miners surge
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More news: Australian shares fell in early trading as big banks led losses, offsetting gains by mining stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 14.6 points, or 0.17%, to 8,583.1 at 10:45am AEST. Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Financial stocks lowered 1.3%, as Commonwealth Bank (-1.3%), NAB (-1.1%) and Westpac (-0.9%) all retreated.
Gold miner Vault Minerals, down 4.2%, was also among the worst performers after its preliminary results showed its full-year sales are set to miss guidance.
Miners added 2.2%, as BHP (3.9%), Rio Tinto (2%) and Fortescue (1.4%) all lifted, tracking a rise in global iron ore prices overnight.
Lithium miners Pilbara Minerals (10.2%), Mineral Resources (7.1%) and Liontown Resources (6.4%) also surged, as did coal miners Whitehaven (8%) and New Hope (5.6%).
Meanwhile, medical imaging company Pro Medicus jumped 9.3% after signing two new US contracts worth a combined $190 million.
Australian shares to start lower after S&P 500, Nasdaq notch fresh highs
The news: Australian shares are set to drop at the open even after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at new record highs overnight.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 11 points, or 0.10%, to 8,587
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.02%, S&P 500 up 0.47%, and Nasdaq up 0.94%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.99%, DAX up 0.49%, and FTSE 100 down 0.12%
- Spot gold: up 0.56% to USD3,357 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.03% to USD69.13/bbl, and US WTI up 3.18% to USD67.53/bbl
- AUD: up 0.03% to 65.781 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.10% to USD109,328.
The context: US stocks advanced overnight as US President Donal Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam, easing concerns over global trade tensions as the 9 July deadline for countries to negotiate on US tariffs pulls closer.
Nike (4.06%) and other apparel and footwear companies climbed on expectations that the US-Vietnam deal will support potential supply chain issues.
Big tech drove wider gains on Wall Street as megacaps Tesla (4.97%), Nvidia (2.58%) and Apple (2.22%) all rallied.
Traders will now look ahead to the US non-farm payrolls report on Thursday (11:30pm AEST) for clues on how soon the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates.
