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On the last day of the financial year, the Aussie market finished near session lows and extended its losses to a second straight day after the ASX 200 shed 132.1pts or 1.97 per cent to 6568.1. All sectors finished lower for the 16th time this year. The index was held back by the Financials, Energy, Materials & Utilities sectors, after they all fell by at least 2.33 per cent.
In June, the ASX 200 shed 8.9 per cent – its worst monthly performance since March 2020. This was on the back of a 2.3 per cent slump in the Financials sector and a 2.8 per cent fall in the Materials sector (together, these two sectors make up ~51.2 per cent of our market). Nine of 11 sectors have now posted back-toback monthly declines and since the start of 2022, the ASX 200 has shed 11.8 per cent – its worst half-yearly performance in two years. Over the financial year, the index fell 10.2 per cent.
In company news, AGL Energy (AGL) said that a company ‘which appears from ASIC searches to be a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management’, has acquired a 2.56 per cent interest in AGL as at 24 June 2022. Shares of AGL shed 1.7 per cent today, and fell 5.8 per cent over the month, snapping a six month winning streak in the process.
Building products maker CSR (CSR) fell 1.46 per cent after it commenced an on-market share buyback of up to $100 million and also reaffirmed its outlook for the year ending 31 March 2023 (as flagged in its FY results last month). In June, CSR posted its third straight monthly decline after shedding another 13.1 per cent.
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In economic news, private sector credit rose by 0.8 per cent in May, to be up 9 per cent on a year ago – the strongest annual growth rate in 13½ years. This was above expectations of a deceleration in credit rate growth, given the backdrop of the Reserve Bank hiking rates, and uncertainty caused by the federal election.
Job vacancies, in seasonally adjusted terms rose by 29.7 per cent over the year to 109,000 available positions. An easing in job vacancies may signify that rate hikes are working to slow economic activity – something which could be well viewed by some investors.
4.9bn shares were traded, worth $8.8bn. 561 stocks rose, 962 fell & 394 finished unchanged.
In the US, weekly data on claims for unemployment insurance will be issued with personal spending and income figures, and the Chicago PMI. Tonight’s highlight is likely to be an update on US inflation at 10:30pm AEST, which could set the tone for markets in the day ahead.
Published by CommSec
