The consumer staples and information technology sectors faced notable declines due to disappointing earnings reports. Dairy producer A2 Milk's shares (ASX:A2M) plummeted 13.6% after warning of a challenging year in its vital Chinese market with an expected double-digit value decline. Similarly, Elders' shares (ASX:ELD) dropped 10.8% following a profit forecast downgrade linked to weaker-than-expected sales.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.46 per cent lower at 7,115.50.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 23 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 4.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 15.75 points.
The SPI futures are down 33 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Consumer Discretionary, up 0.83 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Staples, down 1.34 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Allkem (ASX:AKE), closing 4.21 per cent higher at $13.87. It was followed by shares in Ampol (ASX:ALD) and BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL).
The worst-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 5.70 per cent lower at $5.79. It was followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.34 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.64 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.20 per cent.
Company news
Red Metal (ASX:RDM) has announced that their new assay results have confirmed rare earth oxide at the Sybella project in Northwest Queensland. Red Metal believes the REO mineralisation should be recoverable by the application of a weak acid solution. Shares closed 18.1 per cent higher at 8.5 cents.
Gladiator Resources (ASX:GLA) announced that it will commence the exploration program at its flagship SWC Uranium Target in Tanzania. Gladiator is mobilising a team in the next fortnight to carry out trenching at SWC to better understand the high-grade uranium drilling results. Shares closed 7.14 per cent higher at 1.5 cents.
Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) announced their 2023 full year results. Their property investment portfolio is $3.0bn, and their group funds under management has grown 9.4% to $87.4bn. Shares closed 3.56 per cent higher at $10.77.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,916.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.5 per cent higher at US$109.35 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.1 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.49 higher at US$81.74 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.00 US cents.
