Australia: Shares snap 5-day winning streak as miners fall
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AUSTRALIAN shares fell after 5 straight sessions of gains on Friday (Apr 22), weighed down by mining and technology stocks, as sentiment was hit by concerns over demand weakness from top steel producer China and aggressive US interest rate hikes.
The S&P/ASX 200 index declined 1.6 per cent to 7,473.3 points at the close, with the benchmark index posting a weekly loss of 0.7 per cent, its biggest fall in 5 weeks.
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday a half-point interest rate increase “will be on the table” when the Fed meets on May 3 to 4 to approve the next in what are expected to be a series of rate increases this year.
“Red flags are going up today,” said Stephen Innes managing partner at SPI Asset Management in a note.
“When the market decides to focus on a super hawkish inflation-fighting Fed narrative stoking recession fears, it typically triggers significant shifts in investor behaviours and conversations, and markets then turn a lot more caution.”
The index has been posting small gains over the past few sessions helped by a near US$15 billion bid for Australia’s largest private hospital provider Ramsay Health Care and corporate updates as earnings season kicks off.
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Local Miners dropped 3.5 per cent, leading losses on the day, tracking iron ore prices.
Iron ore behemoth BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals fell between 1 per cent and 4 per cent.
Technology stocks slipped 2.5 per cent as cloud services provider Megaport tumbled 10 per cent to the bottom of the ASX 200, and ASX-listed shares of Block fell 6.4 per cent.
Gold stocks fell 2.6 per cent, marking their first weekly drop in nearly 3 months, as bullion prices slipped. The country’s largest gold miner Newcrest Mining slipped nearly 2 per cent.
The only gainer was the healthcare sector up 0.5 per cent.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.38 per cent lower at 11,908.4 points. REUTERS
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