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Highlights
- ASX 200 dropped 1.2% to close 88 points lower at 7347 with all sectors lower.
- Investors await Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) monthly monetary policy decision meeting tomorrow.
- US Federal Reserve and Bank of England might soon announce key shifts in their monetary policies.
Another exciting week at the share markets begin with the intimidating combination of rising interest rates and decelerating economic growth that is keeping investors cautious.
Back home, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will take centre stage this week, as it meets for its monthly monetary policy decision meeting tomorrow. Some experts are predicting the first interest rate increase in more than a decade, that can be followed by multiple hikes by the RBA. Besides, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, among others, are also poised to announce key shifts in their monetary policies.
How did ASX 200 perform?
Today at market open, Australian shares open lower after tech stocks at Wall Street were particularly vulnerable on Friday and speculation about RBA’s decision spread jitters. The ASX 200 was down 0.9% to 7367 in the opening minutes of trade.
Eventually, ASX 200 closed the session down 1.2%, or 88 points, at 7347, weighed down by a 4% drop by the technology sector. Over the last five days, the index has lost 1.69% and 4.57% over the last 52 weeks.
On the sectoral front, all sectors finished lower. The session's top sector, Industrials, was lower by -0.30% but up +0.48% for the last five days. Travel sector was a bright spot with good news from Qantas and Helloworld providing a boost.
Who gained? Who lost?
The top performer today was Pointsbet Holding (ASX:PBH), up over 5%. It was followed by Qantas Airway (ASX:QAN). QAN announced several major fleet decisions that will reshape its international and domestic networks over the next decade and beyond. Its domestic travel returning to pre-Covid levels ahead of expectations, with Underlying EBITDA for 2H22 expected to be AU$450–AU$550 million.
Next up was Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN), up 2% after the Company disclosed exceptional high-grade extensional results at Julimar. Other gainers of the day were Flight Centre Travel (ASX:FLT) and Reliance Worldwide Corporation (ASX:RWC).
On the other side, in the red zone of the ASX 200, Imugene (ASX:IMU) was the biggest laggard, its stock down over 13%. Other stocks in this zone were Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) and Pilbara Mineral (ASX:PLS).
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Asian and global market
Across Asia, high inflation, policy tightening, and China’s lockdowns have hit market sentiment. Besides, price pressures are being stoked by the high cost of commodities ranging from fuel to food, in part due to disruptions from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Asian markets traded in red with Nikkei down 0.5% and while Topix index shed 0.2%. Korean markets also fell with Kospi index plummeting 0.7%. Hang Seng remained closed for labour day along with markets in China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, that were closed for public holidays.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped more than 900 points, catalysed by a sharp sell-off led by technology stocks. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 3.6% and The Nasdaq composite ended April with a 13.3% loss, its biggest monthly decline since the 2008 financial crisis.
