Australian shares have started the week on the back foot, with investors erring on the side of caution after a sharp sell-off in US technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 31.9 points by midday on Monday, to be down 0.35 per cent to 8988.9, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 26.8 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 9117.9.
The local market shrugged off a tentative rebound from Wall Street on Friday after AI jitters and the US midterm elections hammered technology stocks, but Australia’s lack of exposure to advanced tech was making it more attractive to investors, Moomoo chief market strategist Tapas Strickland said.
“The local benchmark has gained 2.6 per cent since the end of September, shielded by investors pivoting towards major banks, supermarkets and telecommunications companies,” Mr Strickland said.
“This stands in stark contrast to the S&P 500, which has tumbled 3.6 per cent over the same period, led by semiconductors which fell 25.6 per cent.”
However, the local bourse appeared to be cooling off from its recent run, with eight of 11 local sectors trading lower by lunchtime, led by a 1.5 per cent drop in financials.
ANZ was the worst of the big four banks, tumbling more than four per cent to $38.61 despite handing down a $7.3 billion annual net profit, up 23 per cent and its best result in years.
Miners were providing some support at the index level, with raw materials up 1.8 per cent in a broad-based rally, while coalminers and uranium stocks helped push the energy sector higher as oil and gas prices eased.
BHP shares firmed to $58.64 as copper prices rebounded for a second session, while spot gold improved to $US4110 an ounce, taking the gold sub-index 2.3 per cent higher after a tough few weeks for precious metals.
Brent crude prices have softened since Saturday after US President Donald Trump told reporters he was unlikely to escalate attacks on Iran if talks to end the conflict continued to advance.
Local real estate and consumer cyclical stocks were under major pressure, down 2.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, both sectors running into profit-taking after rallying on Thursday.
In company news, Dyno Nobel says it’s on the right track after offloading its fertiliser businesses to focus purely on explosives, helping it swing to an annual statutory profit despite a shrinking underlying figure.
Goodman Group has confirmed it and US-based Digital Reality have taken a joint 9.9 per cent stake in NextDC after an aftermarket share raid last week.
Ansell says strong US demand has supported good sales in the first quarter and has maintained its 2027 financial year guidance range of earnings per share of up to 170 US cents.
The Australian dollar has continued its recent decline against the greenback and is buying 68.78 US cents, down from 68.87 US cents on Friday.
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