• ASX slides 0.29% to close at 50-day low, weighed down by Russia events and EOFY volatility
  • Gold miners buck the trend
  • Wholesaler Metcash announces a record FY23 with group revenue up 6.2% to $15.8 billion

 

Local shares hit a 50-day low to start the week as traders continue to digest the weekend’s events in Russia coupled with Australian EOFY volatility. The S&P ASX 200 closed down 0.29% to 7078.70 points.

Financials and miners were among the hardest hit with nine of the 11 sectors closing in the red.

However, the gold miners rallied despite a broader sell-off in other mining stocks with Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) adding 5%.

The two gaining sectors were tech up 0.88% and real estate, which rose 0.07%.

Markets were also mostly down across Asia today. At 4.20pm (AEST) the mainland China indexes the Shanghai Composite fell 1.54%, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 1.53%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.58%.

In Japan the Nikkei 225 was down by 0.19%, while the Topix fell 0.18%.  However, it was more positive news in South Korea where the Kospi rose 0.45% and the Kosdaq was 0.44% higher.

On Friday the NASDAQ broke its eight-week winning streak – its longest since March 2019 – to fall 1%.

The S&P 500 broke its five-week rally – its longest since November 2021 – to close down 0.8%, while the DOW fell 0.7%.

European markets closed lower on Friday following figures showing business activity in the region has slowed this month.

The HCOB flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the 20 countries sharing the euro currency, compiled by S&P Global and considered a gauge of overall economic health, fell to a five-month low of 50.3 in June from 52.8 in May.

“Although recording an expansion of output for a sixth consecutive month in June, the latest increase was only marginal and far weaker than the gains seen in the previous four months to signal a considerable loss of growth momentum,” S&P said in its release.

“The 2.5 point drop in the index was the largest recorded for a year.”

Oil has moved marginally up as geopolitical instability could mean greater challenges for exporting Russian crude, while the Aussie dollar is trading at ~66.80 US cents.

 

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Wholesaler Metcash (ASX:MTS) is off to a good start for the week after announcing a record FY23 with year ending April 30.  Among the highlights:

  • Group revenue up 6.2% to $15.8 billion
  • Total revenue (including charge-through) up 5.7% to $18.1 billion
  • Underlying profit after tax up 4.6% $307.5 million
  • Final dividend of 11 cents/share with full-year fully franked dividends up 4.7% to 22.5 cents/share

Group CEO, Doug Jones said it had been another record year for MTS and one that represents continued progress on the outstanding results in the prior two years.

“Both sales and earnings were at record levels while facing additional challenges associated with the rapid increase in interest rates and cost of living, particularly towards the end of the year,” he said.

“Our focus on further improving the competitiveness of our independent retail networks, as well as the success of our strategic acquisitions, particularly Total Tools, have been key factors in the strong performance.”

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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Analysts at Macquarie downgraded coal miner New Hope Corp (ASX:NHC)  to an underperform rating with a reduced price target of $4.50.

 

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