Australia Market falls on recession woes

Australian share market finished last day of the financial year lower on Thursday, 30 June 2022, extending its losses to second straight day, as fears grew that aggressive monetary policy tightening to control rising inflation would cause a sharp slowdown in the global economy.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 stumbled 132.16 points, or 1.97%, to 6,568.06. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 131.39 points, or 1.91%, to 6,746.47. In June, the ASX 200 shed 8.9% - its worst monthly performance since March 2020. Over the financial year, the index fell 10.2%.

The top performing stocks in this index were POINTSBET HOLDINGS and DOMINO'S PIZZA, up 10.7% and 0.9% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in this index were TYRO PAYMENTS and UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD, down 7.7% and 6% respectively.

All 11 sectors were lower along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Utilities was worst performing sector, falling 2.9%, followed by materials (down 2.8%), property trusts (down 2.5%), energy (down 2.5%), and energy (down 2.5%).

Investors took cues from an overnight sell-off on Wall Street amid fretted over the impact of hefty rate increases on the U.S. economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reaffirmed Wednesday the U.S. central bank's pursuit of aggressive rate hikes.

Top central bank chiefs on Wednesday reiterated their commitment to controlling inflation no matter what pain it causes, in order to prevent rapid price growth from becoming entrenched.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has already raised rates twice this year and promised to do more to control broadening inflationary pressures.

Shares of materials and resources were lower on weak iron ore prices, with sector heavyweights BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals down between 3.3% and 4.7%.

Financials declined, with the country's big four banks declined between 2.2% and 2.8%.

Building products maker CSR (CSR) fell 1.46% after it commenced an on-market share buyback of up to $100 million and also reaffirmed its outlook for the year ending 31 March 2023 (as flagged in its FY results last month). In June, CSR posted its third straight monthly decline after shedding another 13.1%.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 104.934 rising from below 104 earlier in the week. The Japanese yen traded at 136.33 per dollar, after briefly breaking the 137 level. The Australian dollar was at $0.6880.

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