• ASX 200 finished flattish by 0.08% today
  • Green metal miners plunge after a Goldman Sachs report says the bull run is over for lithium
  • Aussie GDP was higher than expected

 

Local shares finished flattish today despite the fall on Wall Street overnight. At the close, the ASX 200 was up by 0.08% .

The Utilities sector slipped by more than 5% after a 14% plunge in Origin (ASX:ORG) shares following the energy retailer’s weak guidance.

The latest GDP data released by the ABS earlier today also weighed on investors. According to the ABS, the Australian economy slowed by 0.8% in the March quarter, after a rise of 3.6% in the previous quarter.

The ABS put down the big swing to severe weather in NSW, Qld, and SA which had affected supply chains around the country.

For the year however, the Aussie economy grew 3.3%, which beat the consensus forecast of 2.9%.

Following the strong data, some experts now expect the RBA to lift its cash rate by 40bp, topping the 25bp hike in May.

The next RBA meeting is slated for next Tuesday, June 7.

Lithium producers also took a hammering despite lithium prices remaining stable.

This comes after a note from Goldman Sachs said that the price of three key battery metals — cobalt, lithium and nickel — will drop over the next two years after investors wanting exposure to the green-energy transition piled in too quickly.

“Investors are fully aware that battery metals will play a crucial role in the 21st century global economy,” Goldman analysts Nicholas Snowdon and Aditi Rai said in a note over the weekend.

“Yet despite this exponential demand profile, we see the battery metals bull market as over for now.”

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Energy Resources Australia (ASX:ERA) and Judo Capital (ASX:JDO) weres the best large caps today, up by 4%-5% on no news.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Origin Energy dropped 14% after updating the market with weak guidance.

The energy retailer said that volatility in the energy market means that its FY22 EBITDA will come in around the mid-point of its previous guidance range of $1.95bn – $2.25bn million. The company has also scrapped its FY23 guidance.

Lithium miners also dropped like flies today.

Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) was down by 22%, Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) by 21%, and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) by 20%.

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