Shares hit a new lower for the year ahead of this afternoon's Reserve Bank rate statement as the 'Trump rally' continued to unwind.
At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was 19 points or 0.3% weaker at 5596 after touching 5583, the index's lowest point since before Christmas. Gains in gold stocks +3.6%, industrials +1.4% and metals & mining +0.4% were outweighed by declines in financials -1%, telecoms -1% and consumer discretionary -0.7%.
The Reserve Bank met this morning for the first time this year and is due to issue its revised rate outlook and cash rate at 2.30pm EST. The cash rate is widely expected to be left on hold.
US stocks drifted lower overnight amid ongoing concerns about the impact of Donald Trump's economic ideas. The S&P 500 slipped 0.21%.
“Following the election, the positive shift in sentiment among investors, business, and consumers suggested that the probability of tax cuts and easier regulation was seen to be higher than the probability of meaningful restrictions to trade and immigration,” Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips told Bloomberg. “One month into the year, the balance of risks is somewhat less positive in our view.”
China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.18% and Japan's Nikkei 0.4%. Dow futures fell six points or 0.03%.
Crude oil futures improved by 20 cents or 0.38% this morning to US$53.21 a barrel. Gold futures firmed $2.20 or 0.17% to US$1,234.20 an ounce. The dollar was buying 76.4 US cents.
Trading: AGO was worth the short-term risk at 3.6c. As for MBE - that sort of disaster has my name all over it. First buy today was too early - stop me if you've heard that before. Averaged down to something more likely now. Almost a third of the register has changed hands already. Fundies out, speculators in. Short-term only for me, but an overnight hold is likely - have to leave the desk for a child-related hospital visit.
