ASX pares early losses as banks and gold miners rally
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More news: The Australian sharemarket clawed back early losses to trade almost flat at 12:15pm AEST. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 5.2 points or 0.07% to 7,813.9, with eight of 11 sectors in the red.
The largest losses were seen across the technology (-1.8%) and energy (-1.4%) sectors, with software giant WiseTech Global (-2.1%) and oil major Woodside Energy (-1.5%) among those sliding.
However, Commonwealth Bank shares climbed 1.4%, leading a financial sector rise of 0.7%.
Meanwhile, gold miners made up nine of the top 10 performers across the ASX 200 index, as gold prices extended their record run above US$3,400 per ounce.
Australian shares drop in early trading after Wall St slide
More news: The Australian sharemarket has dropped in early trading, with local investors taking the cue from an overnight slide on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump stepped up criticism of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 44 points or 0.56% to 7,775 after the first half hour of trade, with losses concentrated in the real estate, healthcare and industrial stocks. Top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group were all trading in the red, while energy majors Woodside and Santos were down more than 1% each. Each of the Big Four banks was also trading lower.
Earlier, all three major US stock indices ended more than 2% lower after Trump escalated his criticism of Powell, saying the US economy is headed for a slowdown and demanding the Fed chief lowers interest rates, which raised concerns over the central bank's autonomy. Sentiment weakened further as Beijing warned other countries against striking deals with the US at China's expense, adding fuel to the spiralling tariff war between the world's two largest economies.
Wall Street slide set to weigh on Australian shares
The news: The Australian sharemarket is poised to trade lower amid steep losses overnight on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, raising fears over the central bank's independence.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 30 points or 0.38% at 7,803 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 2.48%, S&P 500 down 2.36%, Nasdaq down 2.55%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.01%, CAC 40 down 0.60%, DAX down 0.49%
- Spot gold: up 0.01% at USD3,424.25 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 2.15% to USD66.50/bbl, US WTI down 2.47% to USD63.08/bbl
- AUD: down 0.03% at 64.14 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 2.29% to USD87,177.34.
The context: All three major US indices sank more than 2%, with heavy losses in the ‘Magnificent Seven’ group of megacap growth stocks dragging on the tech-laden Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on the cusp of entering a bear market. Trump escalated his criticism of Powell, saying the US economy is headed for a slowdown and demanding the Fed chief lowers interest rates, in a bellicose Truth Social post which raised concerns over the Fed's autonomy. Sentiment was further weakened with Beijing warning other countries against striking deals with the United States at China's expense, adding fuel to the spiraling tariff war between the world's two largest economies.
What to watch: Government Finance Statistics for the 2023-2024 financial year at 11.30am.
