All but one sector of the Australian share market fell in early trade, putting the local index’s seven-day winning streak at risk after Wall Street fell overnight.
At 10.20am AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was trading 0.7% lower at 6,947.8 points, with the utilities sector the biggest loser, down 2.2%. AGL Energy fell 1.8% while pipeline company APA Group lost 2.8% after its gains earlier this week.
Major miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue fell at the open by more than 1%, while the big four banks also lost ground. The Commonwealth Bank opened 1.2% lower, while Westpac fell 1.3%.
Wall Street had a mixed session on Tuesday. Credit: Bloomberg
Despite Wednesday’s initial drop, the local stock market has enjoyed a strong past month as investors adjusted to the reality of central banks raising interest rates to tackle inflation. The start of global interest rate rises had pushed equity markets lower in the first half of the year, but the Australian index is now up 6.2 per cent over the past 30 days.
The technology sector was the only sector that added value in early trade on Wednesday, rising 0.4 percent.
U.S. stocks fell on Wall Street on Tuesday after another day of meandering trading, as Wall Street debated whether the market’s recent strong run is the start of a turnaround or just a temporary blip.
The S&P 500 fell 27.44, or 0.7%, to 4,091.19 after swinging between a 0.9% loss and a 0.5% gain on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell further, losing 402.23, or 1.2%, to 32,396.17, mainly due to a drop in equipment maker Caterpillar. The Nasdaq composite held up better, but still fell 20.22, or 0.2%, to 12,348.76.
Treasury yields rose for the day as concerns eased somewhat that the first visit by a US House speaker to Taiwan in 25 years could spark a conflict between the world’s two largest economies. Analysts also cited comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting that continued interest rate hikes will take place in order to bring down inflation.
The S&P 500 is down nearly 1 percent this week after surging in July to its best month since late 2020. It was a rare winning stretch for the market, which has struggled this year on inflation concerns highest in 40 years and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates to combat it.