The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) closed down as investors wait to see if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut rates at its meeting tomorrow (20 May).
The S&P/ASX200 dipped 48.6 points, or 0.58%, to 8,295.1 points after ending last week at a three-month high.
Over the past week, the index has advanced 0.78% and is sitting 3.72% off its 52-week high.
Last week, ANZ tipped there was a strong possibility the RBA would still announce a 25-basis-point rate cut in May, though it now only expects one more 25-basis-point cut this year in August.
Nine of the 11 sectors ended in the red, with energy the biggest drag on the market following a 1.82% retreat. Materials dropped 1.55%, the financial sector decreased 0.38% and industrials slid 0.20%.
The buoyant gold price lifted the ASX200 producers today (19 May), with Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) advancing 3.44% to $8.71, Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) climbing 3.37% to $4.60, Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) rising 3.18% to $8.12 and Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) ending up 2.6% at $3.94.
Meanwhile, Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) retreated 16.57% to $0.68, fellow lithium miner Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) dropped 9.94% to $1.41, Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) stumbled 8.79% to $24.08 and Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) closed down 7.74% at $4.41.
At the smaller end of town, Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN) rallied 75% to $0.007 after hitting near-surface gold and confirming the potential for a shallow gold system at its Vuzel Gold Project in southeastern Bulgaria.
Mongolia-focused explorer Xanadu Mines (ASX:XAM) was also a winner, adding 54.9% to close at $0.079 on news it has received an $0.08 cash per share offer from Bastion Mining. The off-market takeover offer is a 57% premium to Xanadu’s closing price last Friday (16 May) and values the company at around $160 million.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & iStock
