ASX hits seven-week low; energy stocks hardest hit; New Hope faces climate push

ASX hits seven-week low as materials and energy weigh. ResMed soars on high volume, New Hope shareholders in climate push, APA buys Basslink and Metcash sees sales jump.

The ASX will digest the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Tuesday interest rate rise after Wall St losses. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Wednesday, September 7. The Australian sharemarket slumped to a seven-week low as energy and materials paced broad falls. 

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1.4 per cent lower to 6729.30, with nine of the 11 sectors in the red.

Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday with the S&P 500 index down 0.4 per cent while the Nasdaq index fell 0.7 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average index 0.5 per cent lower.

Oil prices are lower with global benchmark Brent crude falling 3.0 per cent to $US92.83 per barrel and the US Nymex up 0.1 per cent to $US86.88 per barrel.

Iron ore futures fell 0.9 per cent to $US97.61 per tonne.

The Aussie dollar was at a two-month low of US67.18c at the close.