Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day and how the experts saw it.
The numbers:The ASX 200 had a quieter day on Wednesday compared to its sharp correction on Tuesday,but still dropped by 1.3 per cent to close at 6,601. All sectors fell,with tech stocks dropping by 3.1 per cent,the energy sector down 2.4 per cent and real estate stocks slumping by 2.9 per cent.
The big four banks all dropped by more than 1 per cent,with the National Australia Bank the hardest hit,declining by 1.9 per cent. Woodside also fell by more than 3 per cent,while mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto were slightly down by less than one per cent.
Today’s fall is the fourth consecutive day of decline for the sharemarket,which has now closed at its lowest point since December 2020.
The lifters:Polynovo 4.8%,Lynas Rare Earth 4.2%,Suncorp Group 3.5%
The laggards:Novonix -13.6%,Megaport -11.1%,Chalice Mining -8.75%
The lowdown:The local sharemarket had another down day with interest rates rises looming over the global economy. US equity futures edged up Wednesday ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting that’s expected to deliver a hefty 75 basis point interest-rate hike to fight inflation.
Locally,it was the surprise 5.2 per cent lift in the national minimum wage that drew attention to its potential inflationary effect and impact on interest rates.
“This raises the risk of a wage-price spiral,and hence the possibility the RBA will be forced to hike rates more aggressively;i.e.,closer to market pricing for a cash rate of around 4.3 per cent,which we think would probably lead to a housing crash and recession,” UBS chief economist George Tharenou,said.
The AEMO’s decision to suspend the national electricity market also cast a shadow over the ASX in the afternoon,wiping out a small recovery from the initial falls when the market opened.