by Paul Sanger
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.52 per cent or 36.30 points higher at 6998.10.
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 47 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 5.75 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 17.50 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 38 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Energy, up 2.84 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Staples, down 1.31 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), closing 12.77 per cent higher at $59.77. It was followed by shares in Homeco (ASX:HMC)and Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was EML Payments (ASX:EML), closing 10.55 per cent lower at $0.89. It was followed by shares in Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) and Adbri (ASX:ABC).
Asian markets
Asia-Pacific shares are mixed on Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 posted their third day of losses in the US.
Mainland China markets slipped. The Shenzhen Component is leading losses regionally, falling 2.3 per cent. The Shanghai Composite is 1.38 per cent lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has dropped 1.23 per cent, with the Hang Seng Tech index losing 2.36 per cent. Electric vehicle maker Xpeng has plunged more than 12 per cent after reporting a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 has given up early gains to fall 0.39 per cent and the Topix is flat.
Macro Summary: Australia/New Zealand
Australia’s high levels of household debt underlines economy’s vulnerability to falling house prices: Australia has a record debt-to-income ratio of 187.2 per cent. With mortgage rates tipped to rise to just 6 per cent by year-end, borrowers face a sharp increase in repayments. Moreover, about 75 per cent of fixed rate loans are due to expire by the end of 2023. There is therefore the risk of a vicious cycle where spending and property prices fall together, potentially sparking forced home sales and an economic contraction.
Soaring rents in regional areas worsening Australia’s labour shortage: Research by Impact Economics and Policy highlights that soaring rents in regional areas are worsening worker shortages. As an example, job vacancies on the Sunshine Coast have risen 259 per cent since March 2020, but rents have jumped 36 per cent in the same period. This has also resulted in a 15 per cent lift in the number of low-income households suffering rental stress to 39 per cent.
Shrinking apartment construction set to fuel Sydney unit prices higher: Apartments in construction across Sydney’s east coast have fallen to their lowest since 2013. Sydney apartment commencements shrunk to 7,700 in FY22, down from a peak of 31,000 in 2017. This is expected to drive prices higher in about 18 months’ time, worsening affordability. Melbourne and Brisbane have also been subject to shortages, but new housing estates there compared to Sydney are expected to lessen the impact.
New Zealand supermarkets forced to provide competitors fair access to products: The New Zealand government has announced it will require supermarkets to provide their competitors fair access to their products on wholesale terms, which will allow other retailers to source and sell a wider range of groceries at better prices. The government added that if these interventions don’t deliver a fair deal, then new regulations can be utilised to require major retailers to provide wholesale supply at certain terms, including price and range.
Company news
Kingston Resources (ASX:KSN) has reported high-grade copper-gold assay results from the maiden Jack’s Hut drilling program at Mineral Hill. Five drill holes were designed to test the exploration potential within a zone along the Jack’s Hut trend. Two of the drill holes targeted copper-gold mineralisation in the hanging wall of the historic underground Jack’s Hut Mine. Both of these intercepted high-grade copper-gold mineralisation inside a broader lower grade mineralised zone. Kingston Resources Managing Director, Andrew Corbett, said: “We are very excited to report that our initial Jack’s Hut exploration drilling program has delivered near surface, high grade copper intercepts, in close proximity to our operating mill.” Shares closed 4.88 per cent higher to 8.6 cents.
Following strong moves in lithium stocks overnight, Arcadia Minerals (ASX:AM7) today announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its lithium project in Namibia. Arcadia is proceeding with large-scale test work to investigate the best recovery processes to possibly produce a battery-grade lithium carbonate product. Shares closed 89.74 per cent higher at 37 cents.
Accelerate Resources (ASX:AX8) has announced that a significant new near-surface zone of manganese mineralisation has been discovered through the company’s maiden exploration drilling program. The thickness of the newly discovered zone represents the largest known intersection of manganese-rich mineralisation in the Woodie Woodie North area to date. Managing Director Yaxi Zhan commented, “Our maiden drilling program at Woodie Woodie North has exceeded our expectations… We are well positioned to become a future supplier of premium Manganese products, to meet the surging demand of manganese in the EV supply chain.” Shares closed 19.44 per cent higher at 4.3 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1745.52 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.6 per cent higher at US$102.30 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 0.64 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.03 higher at US$93.77 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.05 US cents.
