AU Morning Wrap | ASX Slumps on Bank Sell-Off; Iron Ore Hits 2022 Low, Westpac CEO Steps Down
G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• Broadcom Leads Tech Lower, Market Falls After Weak Jobs and Cutting Fedspeak
• ASX Slumps as Banks Sell Off
• Stocks to watch: PMV, WBC, CQR
Wall Street Summary
The market fell Friday, ending a short but volatile week for stocks: September started with a pullback. The S&P 500 fell below the historic 5,500 point mark Thursday, a level reached in June, broken through with an August pullback, and now hit again in the first sessions of September.Within indexes, the downward direction of the market was clear Friday. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ traded down 1.73%, the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ fell 1.01%, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ fell a dramatic 2.55%.
Friday, the economy added 142k nonfarm payrolls, and the Unemployment rate landed at 4.2% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payrolls were below expected by 20k, but fit the narrative of softening labor in the U.S. that investors have come to expect. The CME Fedwatch futures tracker shows the chances of an FOMC rate cut during the committee's upcoming September 17-18 meeting as more than 50%.Speaking of the Fed, investors also got word from New York Fed President John Williams Friday that it is time to cut rates. Speaking toward the Council on Foreign Relations, Williams said the economy is balanced, and inflation is tracking lower, and "it is now appropriate to dial down the degree of restrictiveness in the stance of policy by reducing the target range for the federal funds rate."
Thursday, initial jobless claims figures from the Department of Labor Statistics came in at 227K, below last week's 230k. ADP numbers for private payrolls added to the economy showed just 99k jobs added in the past month, far below the 140k expected and the lowest number from ADP since 2021. Wednesday, the JOLTS job openings came in lower than expected at 7.6M vs 8M. It is the lowest hiring data for open positions since 2021. Tuesday, the S&P PMI and ISM PMI index numbers came out lower than estimated, with ISM at 47.2 vs 47.5 and S&P at 47.9 vs 48, compared to last month's 46.8 and 49.6, respectively.
AU Market Watch
Australia's sharemarket declined this morning due to worse-than-expected US hiring figures, raising concerns about the Federal Reserve's response to potential economic downturns. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ dropped 73 points or 0.9 percent at the start of trading, with major banks and energy stocks leading the declines. $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$, $CommBank (CBA.AU)$, $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$, and $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$ all fell by over 1 percent.
On Friday, US investors sold off shares after non-farm payrolls missed forecasts by 23,000 in August, indicating weakening economic activity. Previous jobs reports were also revised lower, marking the slowest hiring pace since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the global growth outlook has worsened, briefly pushing iron ore prices below $US90 a ton, the lowest since November 2022, although iron ore miners were largely unaffected.
Crypto
As of latest data, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ is priced at $55,117, up by 1.80% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ is priced at $2,308, up by 1.55% in the past 24 hours.
Stocks to Watch
John Cheston, the managing director of $Premier Investments Ltd (PMV.AU)$' retailer Smiggle, has been terminated due to "serious misconduct and a serious breach of his employment terms." Cheston was scheduled to transition to a new role leading discount jewelry retailer Lovisa in June next year, succeeding longtime CEO Victor Herrero.
Premier Investments' stock has fallen by 3.1 percent to $34.12, following a weak trading update released earlier this morning.
After an extensive search, $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ has appointed Anthony Miller as the new group CEO. Miller, currently the chief executive of Westpac's business and wealth division, will begin his new role in December. Westpac shares have dropped 1.8 percent to $31.50, mirroring significant losses in the banking sector today.
$Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR.AU)$, in collaboration with super fund Host Plus, has made a bid for ASX-listed Hotel Property Investments at $3.65 per share. However, HPI intends to recommend that shareholders reject the offer. HPI shares have risen 4.9 percent to $3.65, while Charter Hall Retail REIT shares have decreased by 1.9 percent to $3.60.
Mexican-themed fast-food chain $Guzman y Gomez Ltd (GYG.AU)$ has seen a 5.3 percent increase in its stock price, reaching $40.54. The company will be included in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index starting September 23, following the index’s quarterly rebalancing. Yancoal and Metals Acquisition will also join the index on that date.
Economic Calendar (AEST)
No major economic announcements.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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151724719 : The ASX is woefull to trade. I'm not sure what is wrong with Aussie business but all I see and feel are small gains and gigantic losses.