Australian shares sink back to ‘magnet’ 6000 point mark but gold shares jump

Record COVID-19 cases in Victoria and US-China tensions weighed on Australian investor sentiment today but gold shares climbed.

The Australian share market closed in the red, weighed down by record coronavirus numbers in Victoria and rising tensions between the US and China, but gold shares jumped after the price of the precious metal hit a new record.

The S&P/ASX200 slid below the key 6000 point mark in intraday trade on Wednesday before finishing down 0.6 per cent at 6001.3 while the All Ordinaries Index dipped 0.5 per cent to 6135.9.

CMC markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said investor sentiment had swung from positive to negative over the past five weeks, with the 6000 point level acting “like a magnet”.

News the phase one trade deal between the US and China will be reviewed amid rising tensions between the superpowers was a major concern, Mr McCarthy said, while 725 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths in Victoria had clearly factored in the selldown.

Banks came under pressure, reflecting their leverage to the economy, he said.

The hardest hit among the big four was National Australia Bank, down 1.81 per cent to $16.83, and Westpac, which fell 1.25 to $16.58.

Banking and insurance group Suncorp was the fourth worst performing stock, dropping almost 4 per cent to $8.51.

Health stocks including market leader CSL Ltd were sold off, which was unusual, Mr McCarthy said.

CSL lost 1.875 per cent to $277.85, Pro Medicus was down 3.88 per cent to $22.81 and ResMed dropped 2.57 per cent to $28.05 ahead of the release of its earnings report.

ResMed investors may have sought to lock in a profit given the shares are near their all-time high, Mr McCarthy said.

“There’s no coherent investment theme apparent in the low performers,” he told NCA NewsWire.

The worst performing stock was litigation funder Omni Bridgeway, which shed 4.89 per cent to $4.47.

Gold stocks climbed after the price of the safe-haven asset reached $US2030 an ounce, with St Barbara putting on 5.52 per cent to $3.63 and Silver Lake Resources adding 4.42 per cent to $2.60.

Rio Tinto dropped 1.14 per cent to $103.90 while fellow mining giant BHP Billiton inched four cents higher to $37.96.

The Aussie dollar was fetching 71.78 US cents, 54.9 British pence and 60.77 Euro cents at 1624 AEST.