Australia Market extends fall on soft offshore cues

Australia stock market finished firmly in red on Wednesday, 07 December 2022, extending yesterday's losses, as recession rhetoric from major US banks and hawkish comments from the RBA spread negative sentiment among investors.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 61.88 points, or 0.85%, to 7,229.39. The broader All Ordinaries index was erased 64.56 points, or 0.86%, to 7,423.16.

Total 10 of 11 sectors were lower along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY issue underperformed, losing 3.3%, followed by ENERGY (down 2%), CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (down 1.8%), and UTILITIES (down 1.4%).

The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were Coronado Global and Champion Iron, up 3% and 2.7% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were BEACH ENERGY and PALADIN ENERGY, down 9.9% and 7.4% respectively.

Energy stocks also soured as crude oil prices dropped to an 11-month low on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand as uncertainty and consequences of a continued Fed tightening weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $2.68 or 3.5% at $74.25 a barrel. Woodside Energy slipped by 2%, joined by petroleum company Ampol, which sank 1.7%. Santos was down 1.1% at close after announcing higher shareholder returns and a further A$523 million increase to its on-market share buyback.

Financials were lower, with all four big banks closed firmly in the red, weighed down particularly by ANZ, which lost 1.4%.

Shares of materials were up, with Yancoal climbing 4.1% and Fortescue Metals gaining 2.3%. Pilbara Minerals was up 2.2%, while BHP jumped a modest 0.1%. Coronado Global Resources inched up 2.7%. Iron ore company Grange Resources closed with a 5.1% boost, and copper producer 29Metals closed 3.3% higher.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia's gross domestic product expanded 5.9% on year in the third quarter of 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP picked up 0.6% - slowing from 0.9% in the previous three months. Capital expenditure was down 0.2% on quarter after rising 0.2% in Q2, while the GDP deflator added 0.2% on quarter after jumping 3.3% in the second quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics also said the total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6% on month in Australia, coming in at 15,382. That was following the 8.1% decline in September. On a yearly basis, permits slumped 6.4% following the 12.9% drop in the previous month. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved fell 0.2% in October, following a 7.1% decline in September.

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