Australia Market continues to decline for a third day

On Thursday, May 30, 2024, the Australian stock market ended the day down for the third consecutive session as a result of a risk-aversion selloff that followed overnight losses on Wall Street and worries that the Reserve Bank of Australia would be forced to maintain high interest rates for an extended period of time due to persistently rising inflation. The majority of ASX sectors saw a fall, with advances in consumer goods and telecom stocks being offset by losses in shares of minerals, utilities, energy, and finance.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped down 37.43 points, or 0.49%, to 7,628.20 at the closing bell. At 7,895.89, the larger All Ordinaries index decreased by 39.80 points, or 0.5%.

Together with the S&P/ASX 200 Index, six out of eleven sectors saw declines. With a gain of +0.74%, Consumer Discretionary was the top performing sector. The material sector underperformed, declining by 1.86%.

With gains of 3.6% and 3.45%, respectively, PRO MEDICUS and NRW HOLDINGS were the best-performing stocks in the S&P/ASX200 index. With declines of 6.51% and 5.76%, respectively, REGIS RESOURCES and GENESIS MINERALS were the worst-performing stocks in the S&P/ASX200 index.

Materials and resource stocks fell as iron ore futures prices dropped due to concerns about a decline in Chinese demand for the balance of the year, after Beijing's reaffirmation of its intention to maintain control over the production of crude steel until 2024. Top miners Rio Tinto and BHP Group saw their shares drop by 1.8% and 2%, respectively, while Fortescue saw a 3.3% loss.

Economic News: April 2024 Saw a decline in Australian dwelling approvals. Seasonally adjusted total dwelling approvals in Australia fell to 13,078 units in April 2024, a 0.3% decrease. This undid the 2.7% rise from the prior month. 1.1% declines were seen in private sector residences other than homes, and 1.6% declines in private sector houses. Approvals rose in South Australia by 13.9% and Queensland by 5.0%, while Victoria stayed unchanged. Approvals fell in Tasmania by 16.1%, New South Wales by 4.5%, as well as Western Australia by 0.9%.

Approvals for Private Homes in Australia Fall in April 2024. After growing by 4.0% in March, Australia's private home permits fell by 1.6% to 8,822 units in April 2024. This decrease is the third one of the year. While Western Australia experienced a 3.5% rise in approvals, New South Wales saw a 5.0% decrease, Victoria saw a 2.0% decrease, Queensland saw a 0.2% decrease, and South Australia saw a 0.1% decrease.