ASX dips, tech stocks fall after Nasdaq has its worst day since 2022

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day.

The numbers

The Australian sharemarket dipped slightly on Thursday as shares in local technology companies tracked the hefty losses of some of their US peers on Wall Street overnight. Interest-rate sensitive stocks were also a little weaker after the latest economic data showed the jobs market remains relatively strong.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 21.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8036.5, with seven out of the 11 industry sectors lower. The Australian dollar was fetching US67.4¢.

It’s been a rocky session on the New York Stock Exchange.Credit: Bloomberg

The lifters

Safe-haven stocks shone, with utilities (up 0.4 per cent), healthcare (up 0.3 per cent) and consumer staples (up 0.2 per cent) the strongest sectors of the market. Shares in medical equipment supplier EBOS Group gained 1.7 per cent, APA Group added 0.6 per cent and Wesfarners climbed 0.6 per cent.

Gold miners were also stronger, with Evolution Mining shares jumping 2.8 per cent after the company reported its June quarter gold production rose 14 per cent, and record quarterly cash flow. Newmont shares also rose 1 per cent.

Shares in Accent Group, which operates footwear chains such as Hype and Platypus, jumped 10.2 per cent after the company revealed it will close almost half of its Glue youth fashion stores because they are underperforming.

The laggards

WiseTech (down 6.3 per cent) was the biggest large-cap decliner, with shares in data centre operator NEXTDC (down 4.6 per cent) and accounting software firm Xero (down 2.4 per cent) also dropping.

The mining sector fell 0.2 per cent and real estate investment trusts dipped 0.4 per cent.

Index heavyweights BHP (down 0.1 per cent), Fortescue (down 1.4 per cent) and Rio Tinto (down 0.5 per cent) were all weaker, also dragging on the ASX 200’s performance.

Commonwealth Bank shares slid 0.6 per cent as investors took profits after the stock hit a record high.

Domino’s Pizza shares plunged 8.2 per cent after the pizza chain said it would close stores in Japan and France, and lowered its forecasts for store openings over the next 10 years.

The lowdown

Betashares chief economist David Bassanese said the latest employment report suggests the labour market remains robust and, therefore, is “no barrier” to an August interest-rate increase – if inflation data later this month is disappointingly high.

“The report suggests the RBA can, at this stage, approach the August policy meeting not overly concerned about the underlying strength in the economy,” he said. “As a result, it means the June quarter CPI result could make or break the case for an interest-rate increase next month.”

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by less than 0.1 percentage points to 4.1 per cent in June, according to the data. Westpac Business Bank chief economist Besa Deda said markets were now pricing in a 15 per cent chance of an August rate hike.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq in the US had its worst day in 18 months amid concerns about possible tighter restrictions on chip sales to China, which triggered a share sell-off in chip industry companies that have powered the long bull market.

Shares in US chip powerhouses Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom all declined.

Microchip companies were down, on fears of worsening trade with China.Credit: Bloomberg

The S&P 500 Index fell 1.4 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.8 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed for a sixth straight day, jumping 0.6 per cent to another record.

With firms such as Apple and Microsoft each making up 7 per cent of the S&P 500, losses are difficult to offset, even when most of the index’s constituents are up – as they were overnight.

“Much of this year’s equity gains have come from a handful of [tech] names under direct threat from the political arena,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. “An important question is if the rest of the market can offset the waning momentum in ‘magnificent seven’ stocks.”

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“It’s a reality check for Forrest and Fortescue, who have perhaps realised that chasing some dreams doesn’t make sense, and wild ambition more often than not needs to be tempered with some common sense,” writes business columnist Elizabeth Knight, arguing that while Fortescue is not giving up on its green aspirations, there is clearly a pivot to realism on how it can get there.

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with Bloomberg/Reuters

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