The ASX was little fazed by the major tech sell-off that dominated the US markets overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down only 9.8 points, or 0.12%, to 8,399.10 points by the closing bell.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 0.62% and is 1.36% off its 52-week peak.
Sectors were mixed, with six of the 11 ending the session in the red. Energy wiped off 2.15%, industrials was down 0.32% and materials edged back 0.11%.
Investors are likely on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s (28 January) fourth-quarter Consumer Price Index data.
ANZ expects annual inflation to be below the Reserve Bank of Australia’s forecast of 3.4% year over year and the six-month annualised rate for trimmed mean inflation to fall within the RBA’s target band of 2-3%.
Engineering group Monadelphous (ASX:MND) managed to remain in the top five by the closing bell, advancing 3.23% to $15.36.
Uranium explorer Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) tumbled 15.46% to $1.23, while fellow uranium players Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) slid 10.41% to $2.84 and 9.45% to $8.15, respectively.
Coal producer Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) ended the day down 7.99% at $2.65. This was despite the company announcing it had beaten the upper end of its guidance to deliver saleable production of 13.8 million tonnes in 2024.
However, CEO Marcelo Matos says prime hard coking coal prices largely traded sideways through the final quarter of the year, with the ongoing thematic of high Chinese steel exports continuing to suppress seaborne demand.
“Queensland export volumes were stable in the December quarter despite the unfavourable weather conditions, which together with weakness in domestic China net-back pricing, contributed to a short period of pricing pressure late in December,” he says.
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 & Wikimedia Commons
