ASX 200 opens flat; Fisher & Paykel up nearly 8%

Australian shares opened flat on Tuesday despite Wall Street ending lower in overnight trade. Global markets have been spooked by COVID-19 protests in China.

The ASX 200 rose marginally in opening trade, up 2.80 points, or 0.039%, to 7,231.90. On Monday, the ASX 200  benchmark index ended 0.4% lower at 7,229.1 points.

While the All-Ordinaries index rose 0.057% to 7,422.8, the volatility index surged 3.001% to 12.493. After the first 10 minutes, the ASX 200 benchmark index dropped and was trading down 0.16%, or 11.60 points, to 7,217.50.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 1.45%, the S&P 500 dipped 1.54%, and the NASDAQ ended 1.58% lower.

In Europe, the Stoxx 50 fell 0.7%, the FTSE dropped 0.2%, the CAC dipped 0.7%, and the DAX ended 1.1% lower.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.5%, slumping 2.2% at the open. It was pulled down by a sell-down in Chinese markets.

Market action

After half an hour, the benchmark index was trading 0.33%, or 25 points lower, at 7,205.20.

Fisher Paykel, Pilbara, and Imuegne were the top gainers, up 7.8%, 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively. On the other hand, Collins Foods, Healius, and Woodside Energy fell the most, down 12.9%, 7.5% and 4.6%, respectively.

Six of 11 sectors were trading higher today. Information Technology was the best performing sector.

Newsmakers

• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare reported an operating revenue of NZ$690.6 million for the six months ending 30 September 2022
• Santos has inked a fresh agreement with Brickworks to supply gas to its east coast operations
• Woodside Energy’s full-year capital expenditure guidance is US$6 billion to US$6.5 billion
• Sonic Healthcare would acquire a 19.99% stake in Microba
• Poseidon Nickel has been placed under a trading halt pending an announcement regarding a capital raising