Investor concerns over rising living costs and their potential impact on retail sales and bank lending drove accelerated selling in Australian shares, leading to a 1.1% decline in the S&P/ASX 200 to 7721.6 points. Meanwhile, Wall Street traded flat, with the S&P 500 showing no significant change, while the Australian dollar dipped 0.1% to $US65.7c by the close of trading. The consumer discretionary sector was the hardest hit on the ASX, plummeting 2.6% following disappointing trading updates from apparel and household goods retailers, contributing to market jitters.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 38 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 7.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 38.75 points.
The SPI futures are down 80 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Energy, up 0.56 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Discretionary, down 2.56 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ), closing 5.41 per cent higher at $5.65. It was followed by shares in Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY) and Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE).
The worst-performing large cap was JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), closing 4.54 per cent lower at $57.25. It was followed by shares in Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN) and Wesfarmers (ASX:WES).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.24 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 1.03 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 0.18 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,321.70 an ounce.
Iron ore IS 2.9 per cent lower at US$115.35 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.7 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.40 higher at US$79.39 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.71 US cents.