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The local market managed to gain 0.4% yesterday, regaining some ground after Tuesday’s interest rate rise slump.
The market was up nearly 1% at one point, supported by tech, mining and oil stocks, however, ran out of stream by the session close, as all of the big banks raised their mortgage interest rates in line with the RBA, so the financials sector was the only sector to post a loss, down 2.9%.
Looking at the ASX200 leaderboard, private toll road developer and operator, Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX) jumped 16% as news came in that IFM had snapped up a 15% holding in the company, and that the infrastructure fund might put forward a takeover bid in the future. This comes amid hot competition for long-term infrastructure assets. Also performing well was Boral (ASX:BLD), up 15% after the building products company announced it had appointed its new CEO. Meanwhile, banking stocks tumbled. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), Westpac (ASX:WBC) and Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) fell the most, all down over 4%, likely driven by concerns that an aggressive tightening cycle by the RBA could create challenges for the banking sector.
We saw both Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) and Westpac (ASX:ABC) at the top of the most traded stocks by Bell Direct clients yesterday. Also highly traded was the BetaShares Geared Australian Equity Hedge Fund ETF (ASX:GEAR), Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) and Pacific Smiles Group (ASX:PSQ).
Over in the US, all three benchmarks were in the red. The Dow Jones down 0.8%, the S&P500 down 1.1% and the Nasdaq down 0.7%. This comes as investors monitor signs of a potential economic slowdown. Also, action in the bond market may have hurt investor sentiment, as the 10-year Treasury yield jumped back above 3%.
What to watch today:
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