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ASX closes down 0.2%: Materials is worst performer

PUBLISHED

2024-07-16

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On Tuesday, the Australian sharemarket ended a three-day winning streak by dropping slightly below the significant 8000-point mark achieved in the previous session. The S&P/ASX 200, a key benchmark, closed down 18.3 points or 0.2 per cent at 7999.3 points. This decline occurred despite gains seen on Wall Street, as investors in the US remained cautious about the potential for a third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Futures

The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 23 points.

The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 6.75 points.

The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 44.25 points.

The SPI futures are down 23 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector was REITs, up 0.72 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 0.92 per cent.

The best-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 4.49 per cent higher at $6.28. It was followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and GQG Partners (ASX:GQG).

The worst-performing large cap was Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL), closing 3.26 per cent lower at $51.91. It was followed by shares in Rio Tinto Group (ASX:RIO) and Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.20 per cent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.38 per cent.

China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.40 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$2,436.40 an ounce.

Iron ore is 0.7 per cent higher at US$108.75 a tonne.

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.

Light crude is trading $0.57 lower at US$81.32 a barrel.

One Australian dollar is buying 67.37 US cents.

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