Source : Perth Now news
Australian shares are set to end the week on the back foot, as Nvidia’s tumble, higher global bond yields and a potential stalemate in the US-Iran conflict weigh on confidence.
The main S&P/ASX 200 index fell 83.4 points by midday, down 0.91 per cent, to 9063.4, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 86.3 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 9187.9 on Friday.
The dip followed a weak Wall Street session after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang stepped down as boss, dampening recent dip-buying in artificial intelligence stocks.
“The Jensen Huang affair continues to shake global markets and take the steam out of a nascent tech recovery that had driven Wall Street off its recent lows,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
Market participants have also had to contend with fresh interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical risk.
“Crude prices bounced back after US President Donald Trump pulled JD Vance from negotiations with Iran and suggested he’s in no rush to make a deal with the Iranians,” Mr Rodda said.
Brent crude rebounded to around $US96 a barrel, boosting local fossil fuel producers and refineries, as investors mulled a further extension to Middle East crude supply disruptions.
The upswing combined with a rebound in long-ended bond yields to hammer gold stocks, which weighed heavily on the raw materials sector as the precious metal dipped to 13-month lows near $US3883 ($5706) an ounce.
BHP and Rio Tinto also traded lower as copper prices dipped to their lowest value since July.
Financials dragged on the major indices, down more than one per cent as the big four banks, major insurers and investment managers lost ground.
Both consumer cyclicals and staples edged lower, while real estate trusts made up the worst-performing segment with a 1.2 per cent dip.
In company news, Australia’s largest footwear retailer Accent has recorded a nearly four per cent slump in like-for-like sales in the first 17 weeks of the financial year, shrinking alongside consumer confidence.
Hearing device manufacturer Cochlear has held its 2027 earnings guidance steady but its share price edged lower as it announced the departure of its North America business president Lisa Aubert after 32 years at the company.
Seven Group Holdings has poached Boral chief executive Stefan Camphausen to take over from Richard Richards as finance chief, who is stepping down after more than 13 years.
The Australian dollar was buying 68.02 US cents, trading at its lowest value since January and down from 68.37 US cents on Thursday at 5pm, amid souring global risk sentiment and weaker commodity prices.
