Australian shares are heading for a fall at the opening of trading later today after they finished May on a weak note, but higher overall.
The overnight trading on the ASX 200 futures on Friday night suggests a fall of around 24 points as fears about the fallout from President Trump’s tariff wars soured sentiment and raised fears of a global slowdown later in the year.
Eurozone shares fell 1.1% on Friday and the US S&P 500 lost 1.3% in response to the US tariffs on Mexico.
Sovereign bond yields in some markets fell to record lows in Germany and Australia.
The ASX 200 Index slid 59.1 points, or 0.9%, to 6,396.9 on Friday while the All Ordinaries closed the week 53.8 points, or 0.8% lower, at 6491.8.
The Aussie market was up 0.92% for the month, making it one of the few major markets to enjoy a positive return for May.
For the month rare earths group, Lynas was one of the stars thanks to positive news about a venture in the US, its investments in Malaysia and signs of a project in WA. The shares surged more than 29% for the month and are up more than 55% for the year so far.
On the other side, Costa Group shares ended down 29% in May thanks to last week’s surprise downgrade, and shares in Link Administration, the share register and financial processing group fell 23% for the month after a 22.8% slump on Friday in the wake of a surprise earnings downgrade.
Big miners were OK – BHP shares added 2.2% for May, Rio shares rose 6.2% and Fortescue shares jumped more than 10%. But watch for them to come under selling pressure if the 7% slide in global iron ore prices late last week continues this week.
The banks ended the month with small gains – the Commonwealth was up 4.7%, Westpac shares were steady, ANZ shares added 1.7% and NAB shares ended up 3.2%. Those figures though hid a big slide ahead of the May 18 poll and then a surge after the Morrison government’s shock return.
Gold miner Newcrest saw its shares jump 10.4% as gold prices edged higher and then jumped late last week. Oil shares eased and will fall further this week after the big slide late last week in world prices and especially on Friday. Woodside shares lost 1.4% and Santos shares were down 3.1% for the month.
Telstra proved reliable with an 8% rise, but that was due to the confusion around the TPG-Vodafone bid which is being blocked by the ACCC. TPG shares fell 7.9% but Vocus shares leapt 16.2% on news of an approach from a Swedish private equity player.
CSR shares leapt 16% thanks to the re-election of the Morrison government but Adelaide and Bright shares lost 6.8% after an earnings downgrade and some boardroom controversy.
Retailers were weak – The Reject Shop’s latest downgrade saw the shares drop 11.2% for the month, Woolies shares were down 4.5% and Coles shares fell 1.6%.
Among the techs, Aftertouch shares slid 12.2% and Technology ONE shares fell 18.3% after a solid profit report and weak outlook. Appen shares ended up 2%, WisteTech shares ended 5% higher and Xero shares added 9.4%.
