ASX fades amid rising concerns of second COVID-19 wave

Rising COVID-19 cases and fears of a second wave in Victoria and New South Wales have prompted local sharemarkets to close lower.

Local sharemarkets dipped on Wednesday as fresh fears of a second COVID-19 wave were realised following a jump in the number of Victorian cases.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 81 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 6075.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 76 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 6192.6.

The Australian dollar gained 0.15 per cent to $US71.43.

Wednesday’s market slump came despite a 2.4 per cent rise in retail turnover that showed the Australian economy could be normalising.

Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said the ongoing trading environment would be determined on Australia’s ability to clamp down on the Victorian cluster.

“There is clearly a widening divergence in conditions across various states – a wedge that will become much more pronounced in July,” Mr Hassan said.

Resolute Mining had the largest share price surge of the day, with its stock rising 12.9 per cent to $1.40 each.

Healthcare company Mesoblast had the largest drop. Its share price fell 6.8 per cent to $3.45 each.

Major banks all ended the session down. Commonwealth Bank closed the day down 0.4 per cent to $74.13 per share, while ANZ fell 0.6 per cent to $18.61 per share.

NAB’s share price dropped 0.8 per cent to $18.11 each, and Westpac fell 0.6 per cent to $18.01.

Rio Tinto dropped 1.5 per cent to $104.48, while its rival BHP shaved 3.4 per cent off its share price to $37.50 each.

Telstra shares fell 0.3 per cent to $3.39 each, while Qantas stock dropped 3.4 per cent to $3.67 per share.

Woolworths fell 1.5 per cent to $38.65 per share, and Wesfarmers dropped 1.7 per cent of its share price to close the session at $46.10 each.

Originally published as ASX fades amid rising concerns of second COVID-19 wave