AU Evening Wrap: Gains evaporate as bond sell-off intensifies

The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ faded to a loss of 23 points or 0.34 per cent after being up as much as 45 points.

Lithium miners continued to outperform the wider market. $Allkem Ltd (AKE.AU)$ gained 4.73 per cent, $Mineral Resources Ltd (MIN.AU)$ 2.78 per cent and $Liontown Resources Ltd (LTR.AU)$ 1.63 per cent.

$Telstra Group Ltd (TLS.AU)$ edged up 0.26 per cent after reaffirming full-year guidance at today's AGM. Total income is expected to rise to $23-$25 billion from $22 billion in FY22.

$Baby Bunting Group Ltd (BBN.AU)$ lost a fifth of its value after warning of margin pressure as transport and other input costs rose. Gross profit declined 230 basis points to 37.2 per cent last quarter from the same period last year. Net profit after tax fell by $3 million. The share price dived 20.51 per cent to its lowest since May 2020.

Travel agent $Helloworld Travel Ltd (HLO.AU)$ dipped 0.5 per cent after reporting a strong recovery in transaction volumes last quarter. Total transaction volume soared 352 per cent from the same period last year. Earnings for the quarter were an unaudited $5.3 million, versus a loss of $3.3 million in Q1 FY22.

Growth stocks were pressured by rising borrowing costs. $Megaport Ltd (MP1.AU)$ shed 4.91 per cent. $Imugene Ltd (IMU.AU)$ dropped 5.56 per cent.