Australian shares experienced a significant decline following a surge in US labour data, heightening worries about prolonged high interest rates due to persistent inflation concerns. This downturn particularly affected technology stocks, with notable declines seen in shares of WiseTech and NextDC. The US labor cost increase of 1.2% in the last quarter, surpassing predictions, further underscored inflationary pressures in the global economy.
At 11:40am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 1.14 per cent lower at 7,577.10.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 93 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses is Consumer Staples, down 0.35 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 2.14 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Amcor plc (ASX:AMC), trading 3.69 per cent higher at $14.33. It is followed by shares in Coles Group (ASX:COL) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
The worst-performing large cap is Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), trading 4.38 per cent lower at $14.285. It is followed by shares in Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2298.20 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.3 per cent lower at US$116.75 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are flat.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.71 US cents.
