AU Evening Wrap | ASX 200 falls, dragged down by materials sector

Top gainers: $Contact Energy Ltd (CEN.AU)$, $Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (FPH.AU)$ and $Cettire Ltd (CTT.AU)$
Top losers: $HMC Capital Ltd (HMC.AU)$, $Ventia Services Group Ltd (VNT.AU)$ and $Boss Energy Ltd (BOE.AU)$

On Monday, $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ closed down 0.6%, or 46.5 points, at 8249.5 points. This decline marked a total drop of over 2% in the past five sessions. The market was negatively impacted by a lack of substantial stimulus measures from China's Central Economic Work Conference, leading to a decrease in iron ore prices.

Nine out of eleven sectors declined, particularly the materials sector, with $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$ shares slipping 2% and $Fortescue Ltd (FMG.AU)$ down 4.2%. Iron ore futures in Singapore settled around $104 per tonne after a more than 1% decline over the weekend. Additionally, the weaker outlook for China negatively affected lithium and gold miners, with $Liontown Resources Ltd (LTR.AU)$ down 7.5% and $West African Resources Ltd (WAF.AU)$ falling 5.3%. Energy stocks also contributed to the market's decline, particularly in the uranium sector, where tumbled 8.1% and $Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN.AU)$ fell 4.2%. Coal companies were similarly affected, with $Coronado Global Resources Inc (CRN.AU)$ sinking 5.7%.

The financial sector was the top performer, rising by 0.17% and rebounding from its recent decline, but this sector experienced a 1.86% decline for the past five days.

$DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (DGT.AU)$, a recent ASX debutant specializing in data centers, dropped 5.5% to A$4.30 during its second trading session. According to Richard Coppleson from Bell Potter, the $2 billion REIT has been a "huge disappointment" for investors, as it was expected to provide retail investors with unique exposure to AI-driven data centers. However, the stock faced significant reluctance from institutional investors, leading to a heavy reliance on retail investors in its book.

$HMC Capital Ltd (HMC.AU)$, a major investor in $DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (DGT.AU)$, saw its shares plummet 13.7% to A$9.73 in light of the disappointing debut.

$Sandfire Resources Ltd (SFR.AU)$ fell 3.3% to A$9.63, as Morgan Stanley downgraded this copper mining company, to an "underweight" rating.

$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$ rebounded by 5.1% to A$20.5 following the resignation of Mark Mackay, the company's second chief executive for the Gold Coast in only seven months.