AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

Australian shares extended losses to a fourth day on Wednesday as investors waited to see how aggressively the US central bank would raise interest rates to contain rising inflation.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed about 1.3% lower at 6,601 in broad-based selling, falling deeper into correction territory. Investors are pricing in an outsized 75-basis-point rate hike by the US Federal Reserve after red-hot inflation data last week, a move that many fear could spur a recession.

“We are in a bear market and that will remain the main trend till the US Fed stops hiking,” said Mathan Somasundaram, chief executive officer at Deep Data Analytics said.

Adding to the downbeat mood, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe warned that inflation could reach 7% by the end of the year, higher than its prior forecast of 5.9%.

The comment came at a time when markets were already nervous about an outsized Fed rate hike, said Kerry Craig, a global strategist from J.P. Morgan.

Energy stocks led losses on the benchmark index, as Brent prices dropped over demand concerns. Woodside Energy Group and Santos Ltd fell 3.1% and 1%, respectively.

Australian shares plunge over 5% on inflation, China COVID worries

Technology stocks tracked their US peers lower to fall 3.1%. Xero Ltd and ASX-listed shares of Block Inc dropped 5.2% and 7.1%, respectively.

Miners retreated nearly 1%, extending falls to a fourth session.

In other news, the Australian Federal Court approved US private equity firm Blackstone Inc’s $6.3 billion acquisition of casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. Shares of Crown Resorts inched 0.3% higher.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell about 0.1% to 10,635.9.

Comments

Comments are closed.