• ASX fell by 1.51% after a plunge on Wall Street overnight
  • All sectors fell except by Health.  Retailers led the selloff.
  • Australia’s unemployment rate is at 48-year low of 3.9%, bang on with market consensus

 

Aussie shares didn’t fare too badly considering the big selloff on Wall Street overnight that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq plunging by more than 4%.

At today’s close, the benchmark ASX 200 index was down just 1.51% as investors weigh a series of economic data.

Overnight, the UK and Canada reported multi-decade high inflation levels, while here in Australia, the ABS said today that our jobless rate has hit 48-year low at 3.9%.

The last time our unemployment rate was below 3.9% was in August 1974, when it was 2.7%.

Despite the upbeat headline number, jobs created in April were only 4,000, way below economist forecasts.

This could mean more pressure on wages (which grew less than expected in April), and the question now still remains whether the RBA will go for the maximum 40bp increase rate in June, or pace the hikes gradually over time.

On the ASX, 10 out of 11 were in the red today in a broad-brushed selloff.

Staples were the largest losing sector (down 4.5%) while Health (up 0.5%) was the only one to rise.

Aussie retailers came particularly under pressure after US-listed Target slumped 25% last night following the company’s warning to investors that its margins could be further affected by rising costs.

At the same time, consumer confidence in Australia is falling gradually, with the ANZ-Roy Morgan survey on Tuesday showing  it’s at the lowest level since August 2020.

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) rose 6% after announcing that it will implement an on-market share buy-back program of up to $500 million, as part of its proactive capital management strategy.

Following its $1.3 billion equity raising in October last year, Aristocrat says it has continued to focus its capital allocation on driving organic growth, and investing in M&A opportunities.

Calix (ASX:CXL) was up 5% after receiving a $5.19m R&D tax incentive claim from the Australian government for the 2020/2021 financial year. The company also announced today that it has been awarded $11m in government funding for its low emissions lime project with Adbri.

Webjet (ASX:WEB) rose 1% as it returned to profitability in the second half of FY22. The airlines’s full year showed that revenue grew from $38.5m in the pcp to $138m, after a strong second half driven in part by its North American and European markets.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Wesfarmers (ASX:WES), Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) fell between 3% to 5% as retailers fell out of favour.

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