ASX 200 falls at open; PolyNovo off to the races

The Australian share market opened on a lower note on Tuesday, as commodity sensitive stocks fell in the opening session due to losses in commodity-reliant indices on weaker prices. Over a million local cases of Omicron infection have also dented investors’ sentiment amid looming rate-hike fears. The ASX 200 fell 0.39% or 28.7 points to 7,409.1 in the first five minutes of trading.

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Global stock markets plunged again on Monday, while the US 10-year Treasury yield went on to hit a two-year high as investors pared risky assets in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s move to raise interest rates as soon as March 2022.

Wall Street's main indices fell on Monday with NASDAQ hitting its lowest since mid-October 2021. Technology stocks led the decline in the early session on expectations of a sooner-than-expected increase in interest rates, however, most of them pared all of the day’s losses towards the closing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45% to 36,068.88, while the S&P 500 lost 0.14% to 4,670.28. The NASDAQ Composite ended the session almost flat, gaining 0.05% to 14,942.84.

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How has the market performed so far?

As of 11:00 AM AEDT, the ASX 200 had fallen further, losing 0.62% or 46.2 points to 7,400.9, while the ASX All Ordinaries index also lost 0.56% or 43.5 points to 7,722.6. The A-VIX has shot up by 3.69% to 13.56.

Coming to the top gainers, PolyNovo Limited (ASX:PNV) is leading with a massive gain of 18.53%, followed by PointsBet Holdings Limited (ASX:PBH) that was up 3.52%. On the losers’ front, ARB Corporation Limited (ASX:ARB) was the top loser, falling 6.32%, followed by Inghams Limited (ASX:ING) which plunged 6.23%.

The market breadth is supporting the bears for the day as nine out of the 11 sectors were trading in the red zone. The consumer staples and financial sectors were leading the fall, shedding over 1% each, while the energy and materials space also traded lower. The IT pack is supporting the market with a 0.71% gain. 

Newsmakers

1. BHP Group Limited (ASX:BHP)

• BHP Group would spend AU$140 million on a massive nickel and cobalt project in Tanzania.
• This investment is a part of the Group’s strategy to seek more “future-facing commodities”.
• Approximately 65,000 tonnes of nickel a year is expected to be produced at the mine, over a period of three decades.

2. Inghams Group Limited (ASX:ING)

• The group is facing staff shortages in Australia due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant in Australia.
• The rapid spread has also dented the company’s supply chain, logistics and other operations.
• The group said it was facing significant operational inefficiency and additional costs due to the ongoing COVID-19 disruption.

3. PolyNovo Limited (ASX:PNV)

• PoloNovo has posted a record sales figure in the US, clocking US$3.4 million in December 2021.
• The sales were up a noticeable 76% over the same time last year.
• Sales for the second quarter in the US were recorded at US$8.06million, more than double the sales garnered in the same period last year.

4. Ramsay Healthcare Limited (ASX:RHC)

• The company has entered into a new agreement with NHS England (NHSE) to provide its services to NHSE and its patients.
• Similar to the last agreement, Ramsay will be able to continue providing private patient activity.
• The increased demand for services under the new agreement has been triggered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. Dimerix Limited (ASX:DXB)

• The biotech firm has dosed the first batch of patients with DMX-200 in its in feasibility/Phase 3.
• It is potentially a new treatment for respiratory complications associated with COVID-19.
• If effective in the treatment of COVID-19 and DMX-200 may be equally effective across all strains and other infection-related pneumonias.

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