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The ASX stepped back from record highs on Wednesday as traders assumed a defensive position ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting early Thursday morning local time.
Traders were predicting that the stock and bond markets were likely to instantly react to any indication of stimulus measures being wound back.
The benchmark ASX200 opened Wednesday’s session flat before hitting its lowest point in early afternoon. It ended the day 0.7 per cent lower at 7379.3 points.
Higher-than expected inflation data also sent traders running for cover, along with predictions for hundreds of thousands of job losses in Sydney due to extended lockdowns. The federal government eased concerns by increasing emergency lockdown payments.
Rio Tinto has delivered a record first-half profit of $US12.1 billion ($16.44 billion) and a $US9.1 billion ($12.4 billion) dividend bonanza as booming Chinese demand drove the price of the steel-making raw material to an all-time high.
The bumper June half profit – more than double the $US 4.75 billion at the same time last year – is the first delivered under new chief executive Jakob Stausholm who took the top job after the destruction Aboriginal rock shelters forced his predecessor to resign.
The company declared an ordinary dividend of $US3.76 a share and a special dividend of $US1.85 a share.
“Government stimulus in response to ongoing COVID-19 pressures has driven strong demand for our products at a time of constrained supply resulting in a significant spike in most prices,” said Mr Jakob Stausholm.
The Australian sharemarket backed away from Tuesday’s record high, dropping 0.7 per cent as a suite of heavyweight stocks slipped lower.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed 52.1 points lower at 7379.3 with the major banks, miners, CSL and Wesfarmers all lower.
Energy and technology shares also sold off heavily, while the buy-now-pay-later sector was weak.
The market’s fall came after second-quarter inflation figures came in slightly higher than expected.
US future were pointing to losses on Wall Street tonight, with the E-mini for the S&P500 and Nasdaq down 0.1 per cent, and the Dow Jones dropping 0.2 per cent.
iSignthis is changing its reporting currency to Euros, saying most of its revenue is Euro-denominated anyway.
Changing the currency could also be a precursor to listing on a European stock exchange.
ISX has not been allowed to trade on the ASX since 1 October, 2019, after the market operator suspended trading after consulting the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Shares remain suspended at $1.07, locking up $1.1 billion in capital value.
Chinese shares fell again on Wednesday but trimmed earlier losses amid volatile trade as state-run financial media called for calm following a wild rout triggered by investor concerns about tightening government regulation.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell as much as 2 per cent before finishing the morning session down 0.59 per cent.
The blue-chip CSI300 index clawed back some its losses to end the morning flat, but was still down more than 6.6 per cent for the week.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index flitted between gains and losses to fall 0.2 per cent at midday after plunging an eight-month closing low a day earlier.
Buy-now-pay-later firms are at the heart of the financial-technology Venn diagram, so with both ASX sectors in the red today, it makes sense that the likes of Afterpay and Zip Co are in the doldrums.
Afterpay was 3.7 per cent down at $98.92 in afternoon trade, and earlier fell to a near seven-week low $98.67 as the market digested inflation figures that came in higher than expected.
Rival payments firm Zip Co was 2.1 per cent lower at $6.60, and brushed a seven-month low $6.55.
The wider technology sector was down a collective 2.2 per cent and leading losses for the ASX 200, while the heavyweight banking sector was 0.9 per cent lower.
Small cap medtech Lifespot Health says it’s ready to scale up production of an Australian-first product - a cannabis inhaler.
The company, which launched its Medihale devices earlier this year to Aussie patients under the special access scheme for medicinal cannabis, is looking to ramp up production of the devices, which they hope to get approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Lifespot burned $309,000 in cash for the quarter and has $3.4 million on hand, according to its June quarterly report.
The company told investors in an update earlier today that it had revised its strategy to target the US market for approvals before Australia.
“Regulatory approval by the FDA will provide earlier access to the larger US market, whilst also allowing for accelerated mutual recognition regulatory pathways in the EU, Canada and Australian markets in the future,” the company said.
Shares were flat at 10¢ at 2:20pm.
Gold miner St Barbara is down 1 per cent today to $1.75 after analysts were disappointed an outlook for the miner in 2021-22.
St Barbara’s three mines produced 82,698 ounces of gold at a cost of $1,623 per ounce in the last quarter of 2020-21, down from 109,000 in the same quarter last year.
Guidance for the current fiscal year is for gold production between 305,000 and 355,000 ounces of gold at an all in sustaining cost (AISC) of between $1,710 and $1,860 per ounce.
Over the year St Barbara sold 333 ounces of gold at an average price of $2,221 per ounce. Gold is selling for $2,453.86 on the spot market today.
Facebook is set to target children as it prepares to launch its popular photo and videosharing app Instagram for tweens and introduces child protection safety updates for existing users.
The social media giant published a blog post confirming it was working on an “Instagram experience for tweens” to target children under the age of 13 who are not permitted to sign up to Instagram.
“We believe that encouraging them to use an experience that is age appropriate and managed by parents is the right path,” Pavni Diwanji, vice president of youth products at Facebook, said in the post.