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ASX closes 0.8% lower to its lowest point in 11 months

PUBLISHED

2023-10-04

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The Australian sharemarket experienced its lowest point in 11 months, mirroring Wall Street's losses driven by concerns over rising interest rates following stronger-than-expected jobs data.

The S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.8 percent, falling below 7000 for the first time since March, closing at 6890, its lowest level since November 3 of the previous year.

This decline was influenced by a three-day losing streak initiated by a sharp sell-off on Wall Street, triggered by fears of the Federal Reserve's potential interest rate hikes due to robust US labor market data, leading to bond yield spikes and declines in major US indices.

Futures

The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 55 points.

The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 9.25 points.

The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 35 points.

The SPI futures are down 42 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector was Utilities, up 0.34 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Financials, down 1.54 per cent.

The best-performing large cap was Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation (ASX:FPH), closing 1.60 per cent higher at $20.28. It was followed by shares in Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA).

The worst-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 3.29 per cent lower at $5.58. It was followed by shares in Seven Group Holdings (ASX:SVW) and IGO (ASX:IGO).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has lost 1.78 per cent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.86 per cent.

China's Shanghai Composite has lost 1.87 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,836.50 an ounce.

Iron ore is 0.1 per cent lower at US$119.80 a tonne.

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.88 per cent rise.

Light crude is trading $0.03 lower at US$89.19 a barrel.

One Australian dollar is buying 63.18 US cents. 

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