ASX 200 opens lower ahead of RBA policy statement; Tyro Payments dips

The Australian share market opened lower on the last day of trading week following mixed cues from Wall Street. Investors would also be awaiting the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest monetary policy statement at 11:30 AM (AEST) on Friday.

The ASX 200 index fell 2.50 points to 6,972.30 at the open on Friday. The ASX All Ordinaries index fell 0.026% to 7,205.6, while the A-VIX fell 4.942% to 15.194 at the open.  

The benchmark index was trading at 6,971.70, down 3.20 points or 0.046% in the first ten minutes of trade. The index has fallen 0.39% in the past five days but has declined 6.35% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. 

However, the ASX 200 rebounded sharply soon after and was trading at 6,991.10, up 0.23% at 10:30 AM (AEST).

The benchmark index closed 1 point to 6,974.9 points on Thursday.

Global equity indices 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.078%, and the NASDAQ ended 0.41% higher. 

Investors would closely track the monthly US non-farm payrolls data scheduled to be released today for cues on whether the tight labor market would continue to boost wages.

Meanwhile, Bank of England announced a massive 50 basis points hike in interest rates – its biggest hike in 27 years.

In Europe, the Stoxx 50 rose 0.6%, the FTSE surged 0.03%, the CAC gained 0.6%, and the DAX ended 0.6% higher.

Market action 

On Thursday, US Treasury yields fell as a gloomy outlook from the Bank of England triggered global recession fears.

The yield on two-year Treasury fell to 3.0366%. Similarly, yield on 10-year bond dipped to 2.6846%.

Data Source: ASX (as of 5 August 2022, 10:30 AM AEST) 

Image Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media® 

Gold mining stocks were top performers after the yellow metal surged to its highest level since 5 July 2022. Energy stocks fell after the US oil price dipped below US$90 per barrel.

Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) was the top loser, while Novonix (ASX:NVX) was the top gainer.

Meanwhile, on the ASX , three sectors were trading higher, while 8 were in the red.

Newsmakers 

• GQG Partners reported a US$2.2 billion rise in FUM for July to US$88.9 billion.
• Block’s transaction, loan, and consumer receivables losses were US$157 million in Q2 2022, up 225% Y-O-Y.
• Block subsidiary Afterpay’s loss rate improved 1% quarter on quarter.
• Core Lithium has appointed Gareth Manderson as its new CEO.