‘Downplayed unemployment shock’: Market drops on RBA governors speech
Comments from RBA governor Michele Bullock and weaker than expected quarterly earnings dropped the ASX on Thursday.
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Australia’s sharemarket slid during Thursday’s trading as disappointing quarterly updates and a speech by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock weighed on the market.
The benchmark ASX 200 closed lower on Thursday dropping 27.80 points or 0.32 per cent to 8,709.40 points while the broader All Ordinaries slipped 22 points or 02.4 per cent to 8,979.40.
The Aussie dollar jumped 0.19 per cent and is now buying 66.11 US cents.
All sectors except health care closed in the red, with the falls led by industrials, property, consumer discretionary and energy stocks.
Market heavyweight CSL gained 1.53 per cent to $269.56, while ResMed gained 0.44 per cent to $41.10 and Cochlear closed 0.03 per cent higher to $314.01.
Three of the four major banks also finished in the green, despite the sector as a whole falling.
CBA eked out a 0.10 per cent gain to $173.47, NAB jumped 1.24 per cent to $37.66 and Westpac finished 0.54 per cent higher to $33.29.
ANZ was the outlier sliding 0.43 per cent to $30.44.
After jumping on the opening bell, shares subsequently fell after RBA governor Michele Bullock made her speech at the Annika Foundation lunch.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the market’s confidence in a rate cut in August slipped after the speech.
“The RBA governor has elected to look through the recent criticism and, in her speech, downplayed the rise in employment saying it wasn’t a surprise,” he wrote in a market note.
“She also noted that monthly inflation data suggests the inflation rate may not fall as fast as forecast in May.”
Following Ms Bullock’s speech the markets knocked off about five basis points or RBA rate cuts by the end of the year.
In company news earnings results disappointed on Thursday.
Macquarie shares dived 5.08 per cent to $213.84 after telling the market longstanding chief financial officer Alex Harvey will retire mid-2026 as well as announcing its first quarter data.
Macquarie, which is broken up into four business segments, said its banking and financial services and Macquarie capital improved performance over the three months until June 30.
But its Macquarie Asset Management and Commodities and Global Markets segments slipped.
Overall Macquarie Group reported a $3.7bn profit for FY25.
It was also a disappointing trading update for Bapcor with shares slumping to a five-year low after the Autobarn and Midas owner said statutory net profits after tax would lie between $31 to $34m.
Shares in the company slumped 28.38 per cent to $3.66 on the announcement.
In a positive trading update Fortescue shares jumped 4.34 per cent to $19 after the investing giant announced its fourth quarter update showing it shipped a record-breaking annual shipment of 198.4Mt in FY 2025.
Lynas Rare Earths gained 5.03 per cent to $10.65 after its shipment jumped 38 per cent compared to the prior quarter.
Originally published as ‘Downplayed unemployment shock’: Market drops on RBA governors speech
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