At the end of the trading day, the S&P/ASX 200 experienced a decline of 1.29 per cent, closing at 7,354.70. This drop was attributed to market nerves exacerbated by the downgrading of the US sovereign rating.
During this period, all 11 industry sectors recorded losses, with utilities and real estate being the hardest hit among them.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 118 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 22.75 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 112 points.
The SPI futures are down 100 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses was Information Technology, down 0.45 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Utilities, down 2.19 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Infratil (ASX:IFT), closing 3.07 per cent higher at $9.40. It was followed by shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
The worst-performing large cap was AGL Energy (ASX:AGL), closing 4.8 per cent lower at $11.69. It was followed by shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 2.30 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 2.19 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 0.43 per cent.
Company news
Tamboran Resources (ASX:TBN) has signed four separate non-binding Letters of Intent with Origin, AGL, EnergyAustralia and Shell Energy Australia to potentially purchase gas from Tamboran’s low-reservoir Beetaloo Basin gas assets for a period of up to 10 – 15 years. In response, Managing Director and CEO, Joel Riddle, said: “The initial interest from key East Coast gas buyers for the long-term purchase of Tamboran’s low-reservoir CO2 Beetaloo Basin gas volumes demonstrates gas’ viability and role in the energy transition in Australia.” Shares closed flat at 15 cents.
Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA; OTCQB:SYAXF) announced the first commercial shipment of spodumene concentrate from the North American Lithium operation in Québec, Canada. In response, Sayona’s Managing Director, Brett Lynch commented: “We are particularly pleased to make this first shipment in less than two years since NAL’s acquisition in August 2021, reflecting the team’s strong execution capabilities and commitment.” Shares closed 1.61 per cent lower at 15.3 cents.
BCAL Diagnostics (ASX: BDX) has received breakthrough results from their Precion US study. The Precion result enables blood samples to be analysed in many commercial laboratories worldwide fast tracking market access and penetration. In response, Jayne Shaw, Executive Chair of BCAL commented “We will continue to work closely with leading scientists and doctors as our science team further optimises the test to make it more cost-effective when it is launched as a patient friendly blood test for detecting breast cancer”. Shares closed 43.8 per cent higher at 11.5 cents.
Nova Eye Medical (ASX:EYE) announced that following the US launch of iTrack™, total USA sales in the three months to 31 July 2023 were approx. US$2.2 million, up 32% on the prior corresponding period. In response, Managing Director, Tom Spurling, commented: “We will continue to reactivate inactive customer accounts before turning our focus to win new customer accounts in the remainder of the calendar year.” Shares closed 2 per cent higher at 25.5 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,987.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.5 per cent lower at US$109.55 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.84 higher at US$82.21 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.70 US cents.