AUS
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UK
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Highlights
- ASX 200 inched 0.2% lower after news that Australia would impose a 35% tariff on Russian imports.
- Despite the fall, ASX 200 ended March 2022 with a healthy gain of over 6%.
- Investors globally are tracking updates about the ongoing war in Europe, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine being in its fifth week.
Global share markets have been rising this week. Two main reasons- talks between Russia and Ukraine seem to be showing progress and encouraging data on consumer confidence is further boosting investing sentiment. However, discussions between Russia and Ukraine remain unclear. Additionally, economic imbalances- especially fear of inflation, supply chain disruptions, rising prices and interest rate worries are still hovering over.
Australia will issue a formal notification withdrawing entitlement to the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff treatment and applying an additional tariff of 35% to all imports from Russia and Belarus.
Coming to the local bourse’s performance today, the Australian share market was set for a positive start with futures pointing to a rise of 27 points at open despite a negative lead on Wall Street overnight. Mid-day, the ASX 200 ticked up 0.4% to 7542.1 points. Though the benchmark index was set for its eighth day of gains, tumbling oil prices removed the energy sector as one of its biggest boosters. This saw the market close 0.2% lower or dropping 14.90 points at 7499.6.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 1.52%, but is virtually unchanged over the last year to date. On the sectoral front, eight of 11 sectors ended lower. Materials was the best performing sector, gaining 1.46% and 3.60% for the past five days.
Top gainers and losers
The best performer today was Novonix (ASX:NVX), up 9.7%. It was followed by Champion Iron (ASX:CIA), up 5.9%. Other stocks in the gainers list were Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) and TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG), each up by over 4%.
On the other side, in the red zone of the ASX 200, Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) was the biggest laggard, its stock down over 6.3%. Other stocks in this zone were Reece Limited (ASX:REH), Xero (ASX:XRO), Premier Investment (ASX:PMV) and Imugene Limited (ASX:IMU).
Three stocks that interested investors
Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) has completed the acquisition of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (ASX:API), which owns Priceline and Soul Pattinson Chemists. It paid A$1.55 per share or A$774 million in total to acquire the pharmaceutical distribution business. API will now apply to be delisted, with the last day of trading set for April 1. Today, WES shares traded in red.
Tabcorp Holdings (ASX:TAH), one of Australia’s largest gambling operators might soon demerge its lotteries and Keno business. The new entity, which will be called The Lottery Corporation, is likely to debut on the ASX in May, if the split is approved by investors. A shareholders meeting will be held on May 12. The demerger will help each company focus better on growing the business and let shareholders benefit from any future M&A activity. Today, TAH traded up by 2.4% at AU$5.34.
ASX-listed airline Qantas (ASX:QAN) has set an interim target on its way to net-zero by 2050. In a climate action plan update, the airline said that it will cut its net carbon emissions by 25% from 2019 levels by the end of this decade. Attaining the 2030 target would involve increasing its use of lower-emissions biofuels. QAN traded in the red zone today.
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Asian and global market
Today, Asian stocks traded mixed as oil prices fell sharply. Oil futures plunged over US$5 a barrel. Investors globally are tracking news updates about the ongoing war in Europe closely, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine being in its fifth week.
Indian equity benchmarks started the session on a mildly positive note. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5%, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng plummeted 1.1% and South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.6%.
Overnight on the Wall Street, stocks slipped after few hours of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 halted a four-session winning streak, down 0.2% and 0.6% respectively.
