The Aussie market extended its losses to a second straight day, and despite falling by as much as 1.2 per cent, the ASX 200 still shed 56.1pts or 0.78 per cent, to 7148.7. Local losses were broad in nature, with eight (of 11) sectors and around 70 per cent of stocks in the ASX 200 finishing in negative territory. Sentiment was dampened after recession fears rose in the United States. The Tech sector slipped 2 per cent and followed in the footsteps of the
tech-heavy Nasdaq. The Big 4 banks also lost ground, but coal miners New Hope Corporation (NHC) and Whitehaven Coal (WHC) improved over the course of the session.

Over the course of the week, the ASX 200 fell 0.9 per cent – its second straight weekly loss. It was weighed by Mining stocks, which retreated by 4 per cent. Shares of BHP Group (BHP) fell 3.8 per cent over the week and snapped a six-week winning streak. Energy stocks on the other hand, like Woodside Energy (WDS) and Santos (STO) posted their first weekly rally this month. Lithium stocks Lake Resources (LKE) and Liontown Resources (LTR)
were amongst the worst performers, and were weighed by signs that the lithium price has peaked.

In company news today, Vulcan Energy (VUL) rose 3.8 per cent after it announced that its operating plan for its Demonstration Plant received approval from German Regulators. It is also mentioned that it is on track to finalise its Definitive Feasibility Study by Q1 2023, and aims to produce lithium commercially by 2025.

Aurizon Holdings (AZJ) was the best performer today and rose by 4 per cent. The rail freight operator today said that it was going to sell its East Coast Rail (ECR) business to Magnetic Rail Group, for approximately $425 million. Over the week, AZJ rose 1.8 per cent, its fourth straight weekly rally.

Ahead: In the US, S&P Global release purchasing managers’ indexes.

 

Top Australian Brokers

 

Today, 4.2bn shares were traded, worth a massive $12.6bn. 572 stocks rose, 767 fell & 394 finished unchanged.

Originally published by CommSec