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A downbeat morning saw Australian shares turn lower for the first time in a week after the global bull run paused overnight.
The ASX 200‘s five-session winning run came under threat as the benchmark index reversed 31 points or 0.4 per cent to 7049 by mid-session. The Australian market has set a rattling pace in 2020, rising almost 6 per cent since the turn of the year.
This morning’s gentle retreat followed a generally flat night on overseas markets as Wall Street closed for a public holiday and European stocks mostly marked time. The Stoxx 600 eased 0.16 per cent in light trade.
Here, gains in supermarkets and miners Newcrest and Fortescue were outweighed by declines in utilities, tech stocks and financials. Woolworths had a record close within reach after climbing 1.8 per cent. Rival Coles rose 1 per cent. IGA parent company Metcash put on 0.6 per cent.
Fortescue pushed further towards record territory as the big two iron ore miners took a breather after hitting five-month peaks yesterday. Andrew Forrest’s “third force” in iron ore mining rose 0.9 per cent to $11.95, just short of the pre-GFC peak at $12.27. Rio Tinto dropped 0.3 per cent. BHP dipped 0.6 per cent after revealing a mild downturn in ore output last quarter.
A positive morning for gold miners saw Silver Lake Resource add 2.7 per cent and Newcrest 1.4 per cent. Trade in Resolute Mining was suspended while the company taps shareholders for funds to repay a $US130 million loan due in ten days.
Victorian electricity infrastructure owner AusNet declined 2.3 per cent amid speculation about the impact of bushfires on the company’s poles and wires. APA Group fell 1.2 per cent, AGL Energy 1.5 per cent and Spark Infrastructure 1.8 per cent.
A dour session for tech stocks saw Wisetech and Technology One both fall 3.6 per cent, Xero 2.1 per cent and Appen 2 per cent.
AMP sagged 2.1 per cent following reports the wealth manager had channelled refunds owed to former clients into new fee-charging super accounts. NAB was the pick of the big four banks with a rise of 0.2 per cent.
Consumer confidence ticked higher last week as the arrival of rain eased drought and dampened bushfires on the east coast. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Research index improved for a second week, rising 0.9 points to 108.3.
China’s Shanghai Composite slumped 0.55 per cent, Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng 1.61 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 0.82 per cent. S&P 500 index
futures faded 12.4 points or 0.37 per cent.
Brent crude futures deteriorated 12 cents
or 0.2 per cent this morning to $US65.08 a barrel. Gold rose $5.80 or 0.4 per cent to $US1,566 an ounce.
The dollar eased a fifth of a cent to 68.58 US cents.
What’s hot today and what’s not:
Hot today: the tide has been turning this year for the beaten-up domestic medicinal cannabis sector. THC Global (THC) jumped to a three-month high this morning on news that the company had gained regulatory approval to commence production at its Southport facility. THC claims the European-designed facility is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and will give the company a launchpad to the lucrative European market. Shares in THC were last up 4.5 cents or 11.7 per cent at 43 cents.
Not today: listed companies exposed to possible downside from the latest viral outbreak in China came under pressure this morning. The deadly coronavirus gained column inches and air space overnight amid comparisons to the SARS outbreak 17 years ago, which killed almost 800 people. The new virus has spread from Wuhan and infected more than 200 people as far afield as South Korea, Thailand and Japan. Shares in Sydney Airport sank 3.5 per cent, Auckland International Airport 1.9 per cent, Qantas 1.5 per cent and travel agents Webjet 2.9 per cent and Flight Centre 2 per cent.
