At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.14 per cent lower at 8,098.20, following a holiday closure on Wall Street. The index had gained 0.2% the previous day, coming close to its record high. Of the 11 sectors, seven declined, particularly consumer-related stocks, with Coles, Woolworths, and Wesfarmers seeing notable drops. Strike Energy was the largest decliner, falling 4.1% after a business update. Major banks and mining companies also experienced losses, with iron ore prices dropping below $US100 a tonne due to concerns about China. However, gold miners like Bellevue Gold saw gains. Attention is now on upcoming local economic data, including second-quarter GDP figures, with NAB predicting a slight GDP increase of 0.1% and a negative contribution from trade. Meanwhile, EML Payments rose 5% after acquiring Sentenial, and the sale of AirTrunk remains pending.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 1 point.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Communication Services, up 0.37 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Consumer Staples, down 1.63 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN), trading 3.04 per cent higher at $4.74. It is followed by shares in Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) and South32 (ASX:S32).
The worst-performing large cap is Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), trading 2.37 per cent lower at $38.58. It is followed by shares in EBOS Group (ASX:EBO) and Woolworths Group (ASX:WOW).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2523.30 an ounce.
Iron ore is 4.1 per cent lower at US$96.15 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.9 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.81 US cents.
