‘Overheated’ Australian sharemarket takes another breather, miners feel iron ore price dip

The ‘overheated’ ASX has taken another breather, while the bizarre US GameStop saga unexpectedly boosted an Aussie business.

The Australian sharemarket slid lower for the third straight session, ignoring a rebound on Wall Street as lower iron ore and oil prices weighed on producers.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 0.64 per cent to 6607.4 while the All Ordinaries Index dropped 0.68 per cent to 6870.9.

US stocks rose overnight after a steep slide in the previous session, as investors shrugged off softer-than-expected economic growth numbers to seek out bargains and applaud some strong corporate earnings, broker Ord Minnett said.

The local market made a decent start after its biggest one-day slump in four months on Thursday, then tracked lower.

“I think it’s a hangover from yesterday; there’s residual selling in the system,” ThinkMarkets Australia market analyst Carl Capolingua said.

“There’s a bit of hot air coming out of the market. When you see markets get overheated, people pull back. You’ve got to take a breather now and then.”

Mr Capolingua said some investors may have been spooked by the remarkable GameStop frenzy in the US.

The massive rally in GameStop shares left many scratching their heads. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

An army of young Reddit readers snapped up shares in the bricks-and-mortar video gaming retailer GameStop in an “up yours” to hedge funds who had been shorting the stock, sending the price through the roof.

In a bizarre twist to the saga, which has descended into farce as online brokerages restricted trading in GameStop, confused investors piled into an Australian mineral exploration tiddler that has the same code.

GME Resources shares leapt from 8 cents on Thursday morning to an intraday high of 13 cents on Friday, prompting a trading halt and “please explain” speeding ticket from the ASX.

The explorer responded by pointing out its code was the same as GameStop.

Among energy stocks, Woodside lost 2.67 per cent to $24.47, Origin dipped 2.07 per cent to $4.74, Oil Search declined 3 per cent to $3.88 and Santos shed 3.13 per cent to $6.51.

Iron ore miner Fortescue slumped 4.14 per cent to $21.79, Rio Tinto backtracked 2.98 per cent to $110.31 and BHP erased 1.63 per cent to $43.56.

The all-important iron ore price has softened, sending Fortescue, BHP and Rio lower. Picture: AFP Photos/files/Rio Tinto

Banks were also weaker, with ANZ retreating 2.11 per cent to $23.71, Commonwealth Bank giving up 1.91 per cent to $83.51, National Australia Bank easing 1.59 per cent to $23.54 and Westpac slipping 1.54 per cent to $21.13.

Online retailer Kogan plunged 8.49 per cent to $17.99 despite delivering a record half year report, including a more than 120 per cent surge in gross profit, with seven of its 10 biggest trading days ever happening around Black Friday.

But the company also said it “tackled some significant challenges caused by extreme growth”, incurring charges due to warehousing and supply chain interruptions.

Funeral company InvoCare was down 8.3 per cent at $11.16 after a recent share price spike, prompting speculation it was at the centre of a GameStop-style short squeeze.

InvoCare didn’t announce anything, so what’s going on?

ResMed weakened 0.73 per cent to $27.22 after reporting a 9 per cent increase in December quarter revenue compared to the same period in 2019.

The company said new patients for its core markets of sleep apnoea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma treatments continued to improve while there was ongoing adoption of its mask and accessories resupply programs.

Copper and gold miner OZ Minerals appreciated 0.81 per cent to $18.65 after reporting it had met its 2020 production and costs guidance, which were upgraded during the year.

Shares in rare earths miner Lynas, which have run hard of late, were down 4 per cent at $4.78 after the company announced record quarterly sales revenue.

The Aussie dollar was buying 76.42 US cents, 55.75 British pence and 63.15 Euro cents in afternoon trade.

Originally published as ‘Overheated’ Australian sharemarket takes another breather, miners feel iron ore price dip