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The ASX had a rough one today, falling to its lowest close in six weeks in what was the index’s biggest daily fall since June. The sell-off was broad as rising oil prices, weak consumer sentiment and increasingly hawkish RBA expectations weighed on sentiment. There was no lead from Wall St overnight which was closed, and the lull in company-specific news flow continued post reporting season. The rate story was the key drag — RBA assistant governor Sarah Hunter flagged the Board may need to lift rates again if inflation proves stronger than forecast, pushing the market-implied chance of a September hike to around 69%, with November now fully priced, and Westpac joining the other big four banks in calling for another hike.
- ASX 200: -90.09pts (-1.00%) to 8,920.80
- AUD/USD: 0.7213, flat
- Best sectors: Utilities +0.59%, Healthcare +0.45%, Energy +0.22%
- Worst sectors: Consumer Disc. -1.88%, IT -1.76%, Financials -1.63%
- Banks were the biggest index drag, with ANZ (ASX: ANZ) -2.61% to $36.94, CBA (ASX: CBA) -1.76% to $158.69, Westpac (ASX: WBC) -1.26% to $34.58 and NAB (ASX: NAB) -1.45% to $38.87 through the session. The move was less about credit or earnings today and more about the broader macro read-through. ANZ & WBC held in the Active Growth and Income Portfolios.
- Technology remained under pressure as higher bond yields continued to weigh on valuations. The sector fell around 1.76%, extending what has already been a difficult stretch for local growth stocks. WiseTech (ASX: WTC) -2.79% to $35.25 and Xero (ASX: XRO) -2.61% to $74.25 were among the laggards. WTC & XRO held in the Active Growth Portfolio.
- Consumer Staples and Discretionary were also weak as the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 5.2% to 84.4, leaving all sub-indices in pessimistic territory. Mortgage holders are doing it particularly tough, with sentiment among that cohort down 14%.
- Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) +6.06% to 35c delivered an operational milestone, producing first spodumene concentrate from the recommissioned Finniss plant on schedule and on budget. Throughput capacity has been lifted by around 20% to 1.2Mtpa, with first shipment still targeted for the December quarter.
- Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL) +21.19% to $19.39 was the standout at the smaller end, pushing back towards recent highs after an extraordinary run over the past 12 months. Rare earth and critical minerals names generally found some support as strategic supply concerns remain front of mind.
- Amplitude Energy (ASX: AEL) +12.31% to $1.87 also rallied strongly, with the broader Energy complex supported by Brent holding around US$97–98/bbl amid ongoing disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Select Harvests (ASX: SHV) +2.86% to $5.04 delivered a mixed but broadly constructive update. Crop guidance was narrowed to 28,800–29,600MT, up 16–19% on last year, while the pool price edged higher to $10.26/kg. The offset was higher wet-harvest costs, now expected at $13.9m, but almond prices remain around 10-year highs and 81% of the crop is already sold or contracted.
- Peet (ASX: PPC) -7.1% to $1.63 was sharply lower despite remaining under offer from Ingenia at $2.185 per share. The gap to the proposed deal price has widened materially, reflecting growing uncertainty around the transaction after Ingenia itself recently rejected an alternative takeover approach.
- Bluescope Steel (ASX: BSL) -5.84% to $30.66 screened poorly on the day, although a large part of the move was mechanical as the stock traded ex-dividend for $1.35 per share.
- Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) -0.77% to $176.00 remained in focus on two fronts. China’s state-backed iron ore buyer has told some steel mills to pause purchases of Rio’s Pilbara Blend while contract negotiations continue, while Rio also agreed to acquire the Aurukun bauxite project in Queensland from Glencore and Mitsubishi Development for an undisclosed price.
- Iron ore: Rose +0.7% and held above $US100/t for a fourth straight session, supported by lower Australian and Brazilian shipments and seasonal restocking ahead of China’s National Day holiday.
- Gold: Flat ~US$4,405/oz
- Brent crude: ~US$98.20/bbl / +1.3%
- S&P 500 E-mini futures: -21.00pts / -0.27%
- Dow E-mini futures: -435.00pts / -0.81%
- FTSE futures: -38.00pts / -0.35%
