ASX200 has closed to a new six week low

Supermarket giant Woolworths and the major miners have sent the Australian share market down to a new six week low on Wednesday.

The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Wednesday as earnings misses and businesses trading ex-dividend offset strong news on the latest inflation rate data.

The benchmark ASX200 index dropped 11.20 points or 0.14 per cent to 8240.

The broader All Ordinaries also fell, down 20.70 points or 0.24 per cent to 8477.30.

The Australian dollar fell 0.4 per cent during Wednesday’s trading to 63.25 US cents.

The Australian sharemarket fell to a new six-week low on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Monthly data released by the ABS shows inflation remaining steady at 2.5 per cent in January, in line with market forecasts as energy subsidies in Queensland rolled off.

Australia’s all important trimmed mean inflation rate edged slightly higher to 2.8 per cent, but did remain within the Reserve Bank’s target band or 2 to 3 per cent.

Betashare chief economist David Bassanese said Wednesday’s monthly CPI report for January was good news for those hoping for a rate cut.

“Accordingly, my base case remains that the RBA will cut rates at least twice more this year, in both May and August,” he said.

The RBA board’s next meeting is on March 31-April 1.

Overall, it was a mixed day for the market, although six of the 11 sectors ended lower, although companies trading ex-dividend including Fortescue and Telstra shaved off about 9 index points.

The banks were up strongly with banks ANZ up 1.4 per cent to $29.75, NAB, while CBA up 1.2 per cent. to $156.26 NAB shares closed 0.40 per cent higher to $35.53, while Westpac closed at $31.51 up 0.83 per cent.

But the miners were down with BHP falling 1.5 per cent to $39.71 and Rio Tinto losing 3.4 per cent to $115.02 as Singapore futures iron ore pricing fell 0.6 per cent to $US104.65.

Woolworths shares were down 3.04 per cent to $30.60 with the food retailer announcing it was back in the black, with net profit coming in at $739m in the six months to January 5, 2025 from a $781m loss a year ago.

eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said Woolworths’ struggles persisted today, with the supermarket giant’s profit missing estimates and margins falling across the board.

Australia’s sharemarket was negatively impacted by Woolworths and the major miners. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“It’s been a baptism of fire for Amanda Bardwell since taking over in September last year. So far, she’s spent most of her brief tenure as CEO putting out flames, leaving little time to stamp her mark on the business,” he said

Meanwhile WiseTech’s former chief executive Richard White is back at the helm of the company he founded, which helped the company’s share price jumped 2.06 per cent to $96.50

WiseTech Global delivered a strong first half of FY25 as revenue grew by 17 per cent to $US381m with its flagship CargoWise platform surging 21 per cent to $US331.7m.

“Unfortunately for WiseTech, the company’s financial results have recently been overshadowed by significant boardroom turmoil following news that four independent directors have resigned, citing “differing views” on founder Richard White’s continued role at the firm, eToro’s market analyst Farhan Badami said.

“This leadership uncertainty sent shares plunging over 20 per cent over the last week, though the stock remains popular among local investors.”

Platinum Asset Management shares have fallen 20.00 per cent to $0.60 on Wednesday after the company announced interim earnings have dropped by more than 33 per cent to $29.9m.

Flight Centre was also among the more heavily traded shares, down 10.16 per cent to $15.92, despite announcing underlying profit growth of 7 per cent to $117m and improvements to the business through automation.

Bapcor Limited was one of the strongest performing shares on the ASX, surging 13.36 per cent to $5.09 after the company’s cost cutting plan appealed to shareholders.

It was also a strong day for Light Wonder, with shares up 7.81 per cent to $170.88. The company announced a 10 per cent lift in revenue to a record of $3.2bn and a 110 per cent surge in net income to $336m.

Shares in bookmaker Pointsbet Holdings surged 32.53 per cent to $1.10 on the opening after receiving a takeover offer from Japan-based company Mixi for $350m. The company received a subsequent offer from BlueBet.

Originally published as ASX200 has closed to a new six week low