AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Highlights
- ASX 200 surrendered early gains to close 0.2% lower, 11.5 points to 7,304.7.
- Miners, consumer discretionary, tech stocks and property were the worst performers.
- Australian retail sales surged 1.6% in March to AU$33.6 billion.
- Intimidating combination of rising interest rates and decelerating economic growth is keeping investors cautious.
It’s a volatile market right now! Time will tell if Australian equities can deliver solid earnings growth this year. There are pros- a re-opened domestic economy, a record low unemployment rate, elevated household and business deposits and tight global commodity markets. But then there is the fear of globally rising interest rates and geopolitical turmoil that cannot be ignored.
In the most recent economic updates, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) highlighted that Australian retail sales surged 1.6% in March to AU$33.6 billion, thanks to a spending revival. Notably, the data highlights the resilience of Australian households, that are combatting elevated inflation, rising interest rates and a cooling property market.
How did ASX 200 perform?
The Australian share market was poised to open higher after Stocks moved higher on Wall Street, as investors await the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. The ASX 200 jumped 0.6%, or 47.1 points, to 7363.3 in the opening minutes, buoyed by the financial and energy sectors.
But sinusoidal trends are a share market reality. Eventually, the ASX 200 closed today’s session down 0.2%, or 11.5 points, to 7304.7, weighed down by losses across the tech and real estate sectors. Over the last five days, the index has gained 0.60%, but is down 1.88% for the last year to date.
On the sectoral front, six of 11 sectors finished lower. Energy was the best performing sector, gaining +0.83% and +2.09% for the past five days.
Who gained? Who lost?
The top performer today was HUB24 (ASX:HUB), up over 3%. It was followed by Orora Limited (ASX:ORA). Next up was Virgin Money (ASX:VUK), up 3%. Other gainers of the day were Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG) and GrainCorp (ASX:GNC).
On the other side, in the red zone of the ASX 200, ARB Corporation (ASX:ARB) was the biggest laggard, its stock down over 11%. Other stocks in this zone were Zip Co (ASX:Z1P), Lifestyle Communities (ASX:LIC), Novonix Limited (ASX:NVX) and Costa Group Holdings (ASX:CGC).
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Asian and global market
Asian markets remained cautious as investors braced for what could be the biggest Federal Reserve interest rate-hike in two decades. They are also waiting for more clues on how aggressively nations will tackle inflation.
Stocks wavered in Asia. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.1%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.7%. Nikkei was down 0.1%. Japan and China remained closed.
Overnight on the Wall Street, stocks eked out modest gains after a choppy day of trade as market participants wait to find out how aggressively the Fed will raise interest rates. The S&P 500 ended 0.5% higher after briefly slipping into the red earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq inched up 0.2%.
