The Australian sharemarket closed at its lowest point in 11 months on Wednesday, hampered by a weak lead-in from Wall Street, and its interest-rate worries.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) ended the session down 53.2 points, or 0.8%, to 6890, its lowest close since November 3.
Banks had a bad day, with the financials sub-index down 1.5%, the worst performer of the S&P/ASX 200’s 11 industry groups. ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) dropped 49 cents, or 1.9%, to $24.92; National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) slid 48 cents, or 1.7%, to $28.31; Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) dipped $1.60, or 1.6%, to $98.09; and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) closed 31 cents, 1.5%, weaker at $20.74.
Afterpay Ltd’s (ASX: APT) owner Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) sank a further $1.65, or 2.4%, to $66.11 after analysts at Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) cut their price target for the payments stock from $90 to $65.
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price
Block shares, which are dual-listed on the ASX and New York Stock Exchange, have almost halved in value in the past two months, and Block’s total market capitalisation has fallen to $US25.56 billion ($40.5 billion) – meaning that it is now worth less than what Block paid for Afterpay in 2021.
On the industrial front, Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) was down 5 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.78; Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shed 9 cents, or 1.8%, to $4.93; Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) lost 26 cents, or 1.2%, to $21.51; and software player Data#3 Limited (ASX: DTL) surged 22 cents, or 3.3%, to $7.00.
Resources mostly lower
In big mining, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) eased 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $43.72; but Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) advanced 82 cents, or 0.7%, to $113.62; and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) gained 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $20.78.
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price
On planet lithium, producer Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) gave up 25 cents, or 2.2%, to $10.90; fellow producer Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) weakened 4 cents, or 1%, to $4.05; IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), which mines nickel as well as lithium, fell 32 cents, or 2.6%, to $12.05; and Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) slipped 82 cents, or 1.3% to $63.33, after finalising a $US1.1 billion debt offer.
Among the lithium project developers, Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) lost 2.5 cents, or 6%, to 39.5 cents; US-based Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) eased 1.5 cents, or 2.5%, to 58.5 cents; and Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) softened 1 cent, or 5.7%, to 16.5 cents; but Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR), where iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart appears close to being able to block the $6.6 billion takeover offer by the world’s biggest producer of the battery metal, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), picked up 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.97. Rinehart has bought 14.7% of Liontown.
In coal, the sector was led downward by Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN), which dropped 9 cents, or 5.1%, to $1.685; while Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) mislaid 9 cents, or 1.3%, to $6.84; New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) retreated 11 cents, or 1.7%, to $6.23; Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR) was down 6 cents, or 1.6%, to $3.60; and Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) gave up 13 cents, or 2.5%, to $5.10.
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price
In gold, Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) closed 6 cents, or 4.3%, higher at $1.465; Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) added 3 cents, or 1.9%, to $1.605; Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) strengthened 5 cents, or 1.6%, to $3.17; Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) gained 9 cents, or 2.3%, to $4.02; and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) advanced 14 cents, or 1.4%, to $10.18; but West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) eased 3 cents, or 4.2%, to 69 cents. Copper producer Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) lost 8 cents, or 1.3%, to $6.02; and rare earths producer Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) walked back 4 cents, or 0.6%, to $6.50.
Unofficial jobs report surprises Wall Street
In the US, stocks snapped a three-day losing streak as bond yields eased from 16-year highs, following the release of much weaker-than-expected jobs data.
Economists had expected the ADP Non-farm employment report to show a gain of 160,000 jobs in September – in keeping with the gauge’s recent form of 150,000-plus gains – but the number came in at just 89,000 jobs.
Although this is a private report (ADP Is a payroll processing firm) and the official jobs report does not come out until Friday), markets were surprised by the soft figure, and the tentative signs of a weakening jobs market.
For the official jobs report, the economists’ consensus estimates that non-farm payrolls increased by 170,000 in September, down from a 187,000 increase in August, according to Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI). But the pencil may be taken to those estimates between now and Friday.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 127.17 points, or 0.4%, to close at 33,129.55. The broader S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) index rose 34.3 points, or 0.8%, to 4,263.75, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) index kicked up 176.54 points, or 1.4%, to 13,236.01.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury had risen as high as 4.884% before the ADP jobs figure came out, but ended the day down 6.8 basis points, at 4.736%. The 2-year yield slid 11.3 basis points, to 5.071%.
Gold traded US$2.38 lower, to US$1,821.30 an ounce, while the global benchmark Brent crude oil grade plunged US$4.93, or 5.4%, to US$85.99 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude slid US$5.01, or 5.6%, to US$84.22 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 63.21 US cents this morning, up from 63.05 US cents at the ASX close on Wednesday.
