by Peter Milios
On Friday, Australian shares experienced a 2.28 per cent decline due to a sell-off in US bank stocks, which triggered concerns about the solvency of Silicon Valley Bank and negatively impacted local banks. This resulted in a drop in the benchmark index, the S&P/ASX 200, by 166.4 points to 7144.7, with the materials, energy, and financial sectors all experiencing significant losses.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 221 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 28 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 60.5 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 169 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Utilities, up 0.61 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 3.36 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), closing 2.45 per cent higher at $8.35. It was followed by shares in TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
The worst-performing large cap was Allkem (ASX:AKE), closing 8.59 per cent lower at $11.38. It was followed by shares in IGO (ASX:IGO) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 1.58 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 2.52 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 2.05 per cent.
Company news
Magnum Mining & Exploration (ASX:MGU) has announced that their test work has confirmed a high grade iron ore of over 68 per cent. The Company has also outlined that minimal changes were necessary to the previously designed plant to achieve the high grade product. Shares closed 56.7 per cent higher at 2.4 cents.
APM Human Services International (ASX:APM) has announced that they have been awarded a contract in North America with annual revenue of $150 million. In response, APM Group CEO, Michael Anghie said: “North America is an important growth market for APM as we continue to build a leading global health and human services company supporting positive outcomes for the clients and stakeholders we serve.” Shares closed 1.8 per cent higher at $2.22.
Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) has announced that metallurgical testwork has been completed on representative samples at their Buccaneer Gold Project. In response, Prodigy Gold Managing Director, Mark Edwards said, “The majority of drilling is focussed in the southern 500 to 700 metres of this body, with good potential for additions to the existing resource to the north where drill spacing increases.” Shares closed 4.4 per cent lower at 1.1 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,833.20 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.9 per cent higher at US$129 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.87 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.59 lower at US$75.13 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.92 US cents.
