An ASX tech shares rebound – possibly a dead-cat bounce – tried to drive the Australian market higher on Wednesday, but the concerns on commodity prices more than outweighed this. By the close of ASX trading, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (INDEX: XJO) had shed 34.8 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 6,594.5, while the broader All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) surrendered 33.8 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 6,784.3.
Energy and resources were hammered, on the back of lower commodity prices, and fears of recession. For the oil and gas pumpers, oil back around US$100 a barrel was not what investors wanted to see.
ASX 300 trending sideways
The chart above shows the performance of the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), which tracks the S&P/ASX 300. Learn more about ASX: VAS.
Woodside Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares fell $2.24, or 6.9 per cent, to $30.20; Santos (ASX: STO) dropped 46 cents, or 6.2 per cent, to $7.02; and Beach Energy (ASX: BPT) gave up 14 cents, or 8 per cent, to $1.61; and Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) plunged 18 cents, or 11 per cent, to $1.50.
Among the big iron ore producers, fears of a further Chinese slowdown trumped an overnight rise in the price; which slipped during the Asian trading day. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) lost $2.24, or 5.6 per cent, to $37.76; Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) dropped $7.41, or 7.4 per cent, to $93.37; and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) closed 84 cents down at $16.48, a loss of 4.9 per cent. Both Rio Tinto and Fortescue are trading at six-month lows, while BHP is the lowest the stock has been for eight months.
Gold dropped below $US1,800 an ounce for the first time since February, and the falling gold price cut a swathe through the goldminers, with Newcrest Ltd (ASX: NCM) down $1.39, or 6.6 per cent, to $19.60; Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) off 30 cents, or 4.2 per cent, at $6.91; Evolution Ltd (ASX: EVN) down 10 cents, or 4 per cent, to $2.41; St Barbara losing 8.5 cents, or 9.5 per cent, to 81 cents; Regis Resources down 11 cents, or 6.9 per cent, to $1.50.
ASX tech shares tries to turn the tide
But tech stocks continued their recovery, on the back of renewed demand for their US-based counterparts, evidenced in the rising Nasdaq. Small business accounting software leader Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) jumped $5.36, or 6.7 per cent, to $86; logistics software business WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) gained $1.49, or 3.7 per cent, to $42.19; electronics design software company Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU) rose $1.14, or 4.1 per cent, to $28.67; Afterpay’s owner Block (ASX: SQ2) added $4.22, or 4.5 per cent, to 58 cents; fellow buy-now-pay-later player Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) was up 6.5 cents, or 12.8 per cent, to 58 cents; and EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) surged 13 cents, or 10.5 per cent, to $1.42, after a big deal with the Spanish post office.
Who let the Fed hawks out?
Stateside overnight, the market mounted its third straight day of gains, after the release of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes. The minutes were considered hawkish, with the market now considering a likely increase of 50 or 75 basis points at the Fed meeting later this month as baked-in. The S&P 500 index gained 13.7 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 3,845.1, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average added 193.3 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 12,594.5, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was up 39.6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 11,361.8
European markets were stronger, with the STOXX 600 up 6.7 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 407.3 and London’s FTSE-100 up 82.3 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 7,107.8.
