ASX200 falls on mining slump
The sharemarket retreated on Tuesday on the back of a sharp sell-off in mining stocks and investor caution before the release of key inflation data in Australia and earnings results from US tech giants.
The benchmark ASX200 fell 36.4 points, or 0.46 per cent, to close at 7953.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 47.7 points, or 0.58 per cent, to finish at 8176.6.
Tech stocks declined 0.51 per cent to 3108.
The fall was broad based, with nine of 11 industry sectors ending in the red, led by materials with a heavy 1.93 per cent fall.
Iron ore giant Fortescue led the slump, shedding 10.17 per cent to close at $18.28 a share after a mysterious seller offloaded $1.9bn in the company’s stock.
“It is thought that the seller is likely to be an ESG-focused fund, forced to sell down its shareholding following Fortescue’s decision to slow its push into green hydrogen,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Fortescue’s plunge made it the worst performer on the benchmark.
BHP fell 1.26 per cent to $41.54 after announcing a joint acquisition of Canadian copper miner Filo Corp and its Filo del Sol project on the border of Argentina and Chile with Lundin Mining.
The Big Australian is expected to shell out about $3.2bn in the deal.
Rio Tinto fell 1.04 per cent to $114.66 and Mineral Resources tumbled 3.74 per cent to $51.98.
Coal stocks were also hit, with Stanmore Resources slumping 4.23 per cent to $3.62, Coronado shedding 2.17 per cent to $1.36 and Yancoal losing 1.29 per cent to $6.86.
Camera IconMining giant Fortescue was the benchmark’s largest laggard on the July 30, 2024 trading day. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia
The energy sector suffered as Brent crude oil prices declined 2.56 per cent to $79 a barrel on demand concerns from China.
Woodside Energy fell 1 per cent to $26.87 and Santos edged down 0.13 per cent to $7.83.
The big banks marked time ahead of Wednesday’s inflation print.
Commonwealth Bank lifted 0.78 per cent to $135.95, NAB edged up 0.05 per cent to $37.92 and Westpac gained 0.31 per cent to $29.08, but ANZ fell 1.04 per cent to $28.52.
“Tomorrow’s June quarter Australian inflation update will be pivotal in determining whether the Reserve Bank of Australia raises rates before year-end or keeps them on hold at 4.35 per cent,” Mr Sycamore said.
“The expectation is for headline inflation to rise by 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter for an annual rate of 3.8 per cent.
“Trimmed mean is expected to rise by 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter, which would see the annual rate of trimmed mean inflation remain at 4 per cent year-on-year.
“While we think the RBA will be willing to look through a ‘warm’ print tomorrow of 0.9 per cent to 1.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter for trimmed mean, a ‘red hot’ print of 1.2 per cent or higher will put intense pressure on the RBA to raise rates again.”
Camera IconThe benchmark ASX200 fell on Tuesday ahead of key inflation data on Wednesday. Picture Newswire/ Gaye Gerard. Credit: News Corp Australia
In the US, meanwhile, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon will report their quarterly results this week.
In corporate news, regional carrier Rex Airlines is in a trading halt, has stopping selling tickets and will reportedly call in administrators either Tuesday night or Wednesday.
The Rex breakdown follows the collapse of Bonza Airlines just two months ago.
Ramsay Health Care announced the retirement of CEO Craig McNally at the end of June 2025.
Natalie Davis, the former managing director for Woolworths supermarkets in Australia, will become CEO-elect from October 1, 2024 and work with Mr McNally in a transition period.
The stock fell 4.3 per cent to close at $44.93.
The top gainer on the ASX200 was debt collection business Credit Croup, which soared nearly 14 per cent to $17.32 after reporting $81.2m in net profits for FY24.
The company said it expected to produce between $90m and $100m in profits for FY25.
The Aussie dollar gained 0.07 per cent to buy US65.5c at the closing bell.
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