Talks of earlier-than-expected bond tapering in the US spooked the local markets, with the ASX 200 index down by 0.28% today.
Overnight, the S&P 500 fell by 1.9% as US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell flagged the need to speed up the bond tapering program at the December meeting.
Speaking in a testimony before the US Senate, Powell said that “it’s now appropriate to consider speeding up the taper of the central bank’s asset purchases”.
He’s also revised the Fed’s previous messaging, saying it isn’t applicable anymore to describe today’s inflation as transitory, and that it’s “a good time to retire that word”.
The only ASX sectors in the green today were the Miners, which rose by 0.5% ,and Healthcare, which was up by 0.15%.
Energy stocks were relatively subdued despite global oil prices plunging to the lowest levels in three months ahead of the Opec+ meeting on Thursday (US time).
In economics data news, Australia’s national accounts released this morning showed GDP contracted less than feared.
A contraction of 2.7% had been tipped but the result was a modest 1.9% retreat – paling in comparison to the record 6.8% drop in the June quarter last year – and on an annualised basis, the economy was 3.9% bigger.
Meanwhile, Australian housing prices grew for the 14th month in a row – by 1.3%. However the rate of growth had slowed to levels not seen since January.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S32 | South32 Limited | 3.68 | 4.2% | 16,430,898 | $16,462,733,620 |
| ABB | Aussie Broadband | 5.45 | 4.2% | 1,102,679 | $1,170,641,104 |
| CRN | Coronado Global Res | 1.14 | 3.6% | 1,680,406 | $1,844,099,103 |
| FCL | Fineos Corp Hold PLC | 4.56 | 3.6% | 95,112 | $1,403,304,153 |
| SDR | Siteminder | 6.54 | 3.5% | 449,906 | $1,707,934,496 |
| XRO | Xero Ltd | 149.28 | 3.1% | 296,625 | $21,542,722,506 |
| LYC | Lynas Rare Earths | 9.13 | 2.9% | 4,073,792 | $8,004,390,484 |
| WPR | Waypoint REIT | 2.64 | 2.7% | 5,267,949 | $1,875,628,526 |
| APX | Appen Limited | 9.84 | 2.6% | 1,153,952 | $1,180,288,444 |
| OZL | OZ Minerals | 26.65 | 2.5% | 1,131,327 | $8,671,692,748 |
| RIO | Rio Tinto Limited | 95.80 | 2.5% | 941,915 | $34,708,716,009 |
| GNC | GrainCorp Limited | 6.96 | 2.4% | 1,378,489 | $1,556,218,270 |
| IRE | IRESS Limited | 12.68 | 2.3% | 440,027 | $2,354,625,621 |
| ILU | Iluka Resources | 8.80 | 2.1% | 1,574,249 | $3,648,004,188 |
AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG) rose after announcing that a new auditor PriceWaterHouse Coopers will replace Ernst & Young as part of the mandatory auditor rotation.
Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB), FINEOS (ASX:FCL), and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) all rose by 3-4% on no specific news.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMU | Imugene Limited | 0.505 | -8.2% | 20,979,644 | $3,139,193,361 |
| PME | Pro Medicus Limited | 58 | -7.2% | 220,138 | $6,522,056,836 |
| GUD | G.U.D. Holdings | 10.84 | -7.1% | 2,475,956 | $1,141,130,396 |
| PDN | Paladin Energy Ltd | 0.885 | -6.3% | 18,498,214 | $2,531,503,774 |
| IEL | Idp Education Ltd | 32.9 | -5.9% | 2,069,633 | $9,736,200,661 |
| ASM | Ausstratmaterials | 12.55 | -5.8% | 423,174 | $1,858,220,000 |
| CHN | Chalice Mining Ltd | 9.43 | -5.4% | 1,802,093 | $3,531,754,655 |
| SYA | Sayona Mining Ltd | 0.1425 | -5.0% | 46,613,856 | $1,056,750,070 |
| DUB | Dubber Corp Ltd | 3.4 | -4.8% | 1,453,567 | $1,066,948,303 |
| JHG | Janus Henderson | 59.85 | -4.5% | 101,042 | $1,835,480,427 |
| IPL | Incitec Pivot | 3.06 | -4.4% | 9,386,239 | $6,215,120,093 |
| AMP | AMP Limited | 0.99 | -4.3% | 25,899,679 | $3,380,419,558 |
| AEF | Australian Ethical | 13.95 | -4.3% | 188,676 | $1,638,604,472 |
| CTT | Cettire | 3.65 | -4.2% | 609,930 | $1,452,517,618 |
| PRU | Perseus Mining Ltd | 1.575 | -4.0% | 5,861,090 | $2,012,476,095 |
Nuix (ASX:NXL) and Sezzle (ASX:SZL) touched record lows today.
Yesterday, Nuix held its AGM just a few days before the first anniversary of its listing.
The drama at Nuix this year has sparked the departure of CEO Rod Vawdrey, CFO Stephen Doyle and co-founder Anthony Castagna.
On top of all this, the company’s sales were hit by the extended transition of government in the US, and COVID-19 impacts on customers.
Telix Pharma (ASX:TLX) also fell today despite reporting that Illucix has been granted exceptional authorisation for prostate cancer imaging in Brazil.
This authorisation grants permission to commence selling Illuccix in Brazil, ahead of a full regulatory approval, expected next year.