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The Australian exchange see-sawed once again today as trade doubts spooked the market.
It was a mixed morning of ups and downs that first saw our two primary indexes surge into the green.
At first, just shy of the 6000 mark, it seemed the ASX 200 was set to rectify yesterday’s stagnation with a fresh rally. However, comments from U.S. trade advisor Peter Navarro dashed all mid-morning hopes.
Navarro told Fox News the U.S.-China trade deal was “over,” saying the coronavirus was largely to blame for the deal’s unravelling.
But the advisor’s comments were swiftly contradicted by President Trump, who jumped onto Twitter to reassure the world the deal was “fully intact.” Eventually, Navarro too walked back the statement, saying it had been taken out of context by the media.
Nevertheless, the impact on Aussie markets could not be ignored.
In the space of just over half an hour, the ASX shed $28 billion, triggering a more than 100-point nosedive on the benchmark exchange.
However, Navarro’s eventual correction gave the indices a chance to gain back some ground. While the market couldn’t climb back to its early morning surge, it began its upwards run to teeter between the red and the green through lunchtime.
Ultimately, the ASX 200 closed up just 0.17 per cent to hit 5954 points. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries clinched a 0.19 per cent green finish, reaching 6069 ticks.
Today, sectors were a mixed bag. Materials, our major market heavyweights, delivered a 0.22 per cent rally into the green, buoyed by gains across big iron ore players. BHP rose 0.48 per cent, Fortescue 1.23 per cent, and Rio Tinto 1.28 per cent.
On the flipside, financials gave back yesterday’s surge with a 0.78 slump. All bar one of the big four banks fell into the red by the bell. CBA, NAB and WBC all suffered less than one per cent blows, while ANZ escaped the day with a 0.05 per cent green finish.
Surprisingly, consumer discretionary stocks were able to crawl back from yesterday’s troubles with a 1.16 per cent spike. Significantly, Harvey Norman surged nearly five per cent as it forecast a 20 per cent full-year profit boost.
And in currency markets, the Aussie dollar managed to gain some ground in the west, rising to 69.11 US cents. However, it fell 0.02 per cent against the Euro to hit 61.33 cents, and 0.03 per cent, compared to the Swiss Franc, to reach 65.43 centimes.
Today’s ups and downs
Today, Digital Wine Ventures (ASX:DW8) enjoyed a 31.3 per cent rise as it signed a major wine producer and alcoholic kombucha brand. Dean Taylor, CEO at the wine delivery platform, said signing the historic South Australian Henschke family was “as close you can get to royalty” in the industry. On the back of the news, DW8 shares rose to trade for 2.1 cents each; more than doubling in value since mid-June.
Meanwhile, King River Resources (ASX:KRR) securities have slumped on an equity raising announcement. In a new share purchase plan, the precious metals explorer is hoping to raise $12.3 million. However, a lack of explanation about where funds will be put to use has left shareholders scratching their heads. As a result, KRR closed 18.4 per cent lower, with shares trading for 3.1 cents each.
