End-of-day summary:
The share market fell for a second day as the threat of higher interest rates continued to reverberate following yesterday's unwelcome inflation news.
The ASX 200 plunged as much as 129 points before paring its loss to 23 points or 0.3% as institutional buyers took advantage of the early weakness.
Stocks most exposed to increased borrowing costs felt the heat after a six-month high in inflation drove treasury yields sharply higher. The yield on 10-year Australian government bonds has jumped from around 4.2% yesterday morning to above 4.4% this afternoon.
REITs dropped 2.27% as many traded ex-dividend. Industrials, financials and utilities all lost at least 0.5%. Tech was the best performing sector, firming 0.74% after the Nasdaq rebounded overnight.
US futures were lower at the Australian close, following losses across Asian markets. S&P 500 futures were down 0.29%.
