AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Highlights
- ASX opens lower, ending a three-day winning streak.
- MinRes (MIN) tumbles nearly 12% after halting haulage operations.
- Myer (MYR) shares drop over 3% following flat sales in HY25 results.
The Australian stock market started the day on a negative note, reversing recent gains as global market sentiment turned cautious. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% at the open, dropping 48.9 points to 7,811.5, while the All Ordinaries saw a similar 0.6% fall. All 11 sectors were in the red, reflecting a broad-based downturn.
Wall Street Woes Spill Over to ASX
Overnight, US markets faced a selloff, with tech stocks leading the decline. The NYSE FANG+ Index, which tracks major US tech giants, fell 2.2%, dragged down by a 5.3% drop in Tesla. Investors turned risk-averse, causing the VIX index, a key volatility gauge, to rise 5.8%.
A rush towards safe-haven assets pushed gold prices to a record high of $US3,030 per ounce. Concerns over US trade policies and reports of global fund managers reducing their US equity exposure added further pressure on investor sentiment.
Tech and Banking Stocks Decline
Australian technology stocks followed the US market’s downward trend. NextDC (ASX:NXT) dropped 2.7%, while WiseTech (ASX:WTC) fell 1% amid an ongoing board review.
Major index bellwethers also faced declines. Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) slipped 2%, while the big four banks faced losses, with Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) down 0.9% and ANZ Group (ASX:ANZ) losing 1%.
MinRes (ASX:MIN) Tumbles on Haulage Suspension
One of the hardest-hit stocks was Mineral Resources, which saw a 11.9% drop after it halted haulage operations on its Onslow iron haul road following a sixth jumbo road train crash. This disruption has raised concerns over potential operational challenges and production delays.
Myer (ASX:MYR) Faces Pressure After HY25 Results
Myer Holdings (MYR) also came under pressure, with shares falling 3.3% after the company posted a flat sales performance for the first half of FY25. Despite total sales growing 0.8% to $1.83 billion, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) dropped 18.5% to $42.4 million.
Operational hurdles impacted profitability, including National Distribution Centre (NDC) complications, which resulted in an EBIT hit of around $12 million due to stock unavailability and fulfillment issues. The company expects these challenges to continue affecting performance in the second half of FY25, with sales down 2.6% in the first five weeks of H2.
Although the NDC project is not yet operating as designed, Myer remains optimistic that once fully functional, it could generate annual benefits of $5 million to $10 million. However, the retail environment remains challenging amid high cost-of-living pressures.
Market Outlook
With global uncertainty mounting and investors shifting to safer assets, volatility is expected to remain high. Market participants are closely watching how companies navigate these headwinds in the months ahead.
