The Australian stock market has given up all of the gains that it had made in 2023, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) losing 56.6 points, or 0.8%, on Monday to 6,844.1, with resources weakness the major culprit. That puts the index in the red by 2.8% for the year. The broader All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) index sank 59.7 points, also 0.8%, to 7,030.0.
Australia’s 10-year government bond yield climbed to 4.81%, matching Friday’s high, and the highest level since 2011 on expectations that interest rates would stay high for longer. Traders are waiting for Wednesday, when the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release third-quarter consumer price index (CPI) data that is expected to be critical in deciding whether the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates next month.
Nine out of the 11 sectors went backward, with materials and energy leading losses.
Resources were under pressure across the board, with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) down $1.07, or 2.4%, to $43.36; Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) losing $2.77, also 2.4%, to $111.85; and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) closing 58 cents, or 2.7%, to $20.81.
BHP share price
Lithium, coal turn downward
Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price suffered a 28-cent, or 7.3%, fall to $3.58; and fellow producer Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price eased 32 cents, or 3%, to $10.36. Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN), which produces iron ore as well as lithium, share price lost $3.11, or 5.2%, to $56.44, and IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), which mines nickel and lithium, share price also gave up 5.2%, down 58 cents at $10.58.
Pilbara Minerals share price
In coal, New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) share price sank 55 cents, or 8.5%, to $5.92, as it traded ex-dividend, with the final dividend of 21 cents a share and a special dividend of 9 cents a share both coming out of the share price. Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price slid 4 cents, or 0.5%, to $7.50; Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price lost 9 cents, or 1.8%, to $4.98; Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) share price gave up 7.5 cents, or 4.5%, to $1.61; and Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR) share price shed 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.63.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price retreated 10 cents, or 3%, to $3.27 after telling the market of a 33% drop in coal production this quarter, in a business update.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price dropped $1.17, or 3.2%, to $35.19, while Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price lost 20 cents, or 2.5%, to $7.80.
The major banks were all lower, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price easing 2 cents to $20.84, ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price down 5 cents at $25.22, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price shedding 9 cents to $28.56, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price the biggest loser, walking back 93 cents, or 0.9%, to $97.82.
Biotech heavyweight CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price added $3.71, or 1.6%, to $26.80. Drug developer Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM) share price jumped 5.5 cents, or 20%, to 33 cents, after reporting positive clinical trial results for its lung cancer treatment, efti.
CSL share price
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price was down 2 cents, at $3.79.
Tech index anticipates strong earnings
In the US, the major indices were mixed, as US bond yields retreated significantly, with the 10-year yield back to 4.85%, from levels above 5% a few days ago. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) share price moved higher on Monday as traders looked ahead to the release of corporate earnings from tech industry giants: the tech-heavy gauge snapped a four-day losing streak, adding 34.52 points, or 0.3%, to 13,018.33.
It was not such a positive day for the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) share price, which slipped 190.87 points, or 0.6%, to close at 32,936.41; or the broader S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) index share price, which shed 7.12 points, or 0.2%, to 4,217.04.
The US reporting season gets into full swing tonight with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Visa Inc (NYSE: V), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) and General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) among the big names reporting.
The US 2-year Treasury yield gave back 5.1 basis points, to 5.058%.
Gold gained US$1.72, to US$1,972.85 an ounce, while on the oil markets, the global benchmark Brent crude grade lost US$1.59, or 1.7%, to US$90.57 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude retreated US$2.59, or 2.9%, to US$85.49 a barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying 63.36 US cents, up from 63.13 US cents at the ASX close on Monday.
