The ASX 200 opened on Wednesday opened lower, down 7.20 points or 0.11 per cent to 6817.50, taking cues from the sluggish US stock market.
The top performers in the index were Nearmap Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, up 4.61 and 4.03 percent, respectively.
The bottom performing stocks were Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, down 3.34 percent and 3.25 percent, respectively.
On Monday, the ASX200 settled slightly unchanged at 6824.70, up 0.36 per cent. The Wall Street indices ended flat on Tuesday with the S&P 500 dropping from its record high to settle at 3,849.62, down 0.15 percent.
The Dow Jones ended 0.074 percent lower at 30,937.04, while the NASDAQ Composite closed down 0.073 percent at 13,626.06. The US markets remained cautious ahead of the 2-day Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
Gainers and losers
The top performers in the index were Nearmap Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, up 4.61 and 4.03 percent, respectively. The bottom performing stocks were Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, down 3.34 percent and 3.25 percent, respectively.
Sectoral movement
While the ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary index was up 1.175 per cent, the ASX 200 Information Technology gained 1.063 percent in the opening trade. The ASX Dividend Opportunities index was also up 1.008 percent.
Newsmakers
BrainChip on Wednesday announced the latest progress in the development of its Akida computerchip, against the December quarter of last year. The company’s operating cash outflow surged to $US2.7 million.