At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.35 per cent lower at 7,253.20, experiencing a decline, ending a three-day period of gains. The index closed down by 0.4 percent at 7253.6 points, reaching a low of 7247.6 during the day.
Among the eleven sectors in the market, nine of them experienced a decrease in value. The health care, financials, energy, and industrials sectors performed poorly. Only the communications and utilities sectors showed positive growth, being the only sectors in the green.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 50 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 5.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 29.25 points.
The SPI futures are down 33 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Communication Services, up 1.06 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Health Care, down 0.83 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 6.59 per cent higher at $6.15. It was followed by shares in SEEK (ASX:SEK) and AGL Energy (ASX:AGL).
The worst-performing large cap was Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ), closing 2.51 per cent lower at $5.05. It was followed by shares in Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company (ASX:SOL).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost 0.27 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.46 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.21 per cent.
Company news
archTIS (ASX:AR9), (OTCQB:ARHLF) has been awarded a contract with the Bank of Finland for its NC Protect security technology. Kurt Mueffelmann, Global COO and US President, said: “Organisations… are increasingly looking for independent encryption key management for their Microsoft 365 applications and SharePoint on-premises environments.” Shares closed 3.66 per cent higher at 8.5 cents.
Krakatoa Resources (ASX:KTA) has discovered high-grade lithium at the company’s King Tamba project in WA. Planning has now commenced for an imminent RC drilling program. Shares closed 73.9 per cent higher at 4 cents.
Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) has announced a 40% increase in resource tonnage at the Yin REE Ironstone Complex. This complex is located at the company’s 100% owned Mangaroon project in WA. MD Dean Tuck commented: “The upgraded independent resource confirms Yin as a high-grade and high resource intensity deposit.” Shares closed 11.5 per cent higher at 5.8 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,932.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is flat at US$110.50 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.18 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $1.17 higher at US$70.96 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.80 US cents.
