Major banks tumble as sharemarket seesaws

Australia's sharemarket seesawed throughout Friday's trading before eventually falling, as investors sold down the major banks and moved into the mining sector.
The benchmark ASX 200 index fell during Friday's reading with shares dropping 36.60 points or 0.43 per cent to 8,514.20
The broader All Ordinaries also dropped and is trading down 29.90 points or 0.34 per cent to 8,743.70. BHP, RIO, Fortescue soared on a strong day for the miners. Picture NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard. Credit: News Corp Australia
On a mixed day for Australia's largest sectors the major miners soared, while the banks and healthcare stocks fell by 1.51 and 1.41 per cent respectively.
CBA had its biggest fall in almost nine weeks, slumping 2.8 per cent to $185.36.
The other major banks followed with NAB dropping 1.6 per cent to $39.26, while Westpac fell 1.9 per cent to $33.90 and ANZ dropped 1.8 per cent to $29.20.
Shares in CSL slipped 2.3 per cent to $234.34 while Sigma Healthcare fell nearly 2 per cent and is now trading at $2.95 a share.
Overall, eight of the 11 sectors were lower, with just materials, information technology and telecommunications finishing in the green.
The major iron ore miners soared on the back of a jump in the underlying commodities price.
BHP closed 3.90 per cent higher to $37.53, Rio Tinto climbed 4.59 per cent to $108.97 and Fortescue Metals gained 3.55 per cent to $15.46.
The Australian dollar lifted slightly and is now buying at 65.48 US cents. Despite the falls, the ASX 200 gained 0.1 per cent for the week NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia
In company news, Woolworths announced it was shutting down its online retailer MyDeal from September 30 as it looks to focus on Big W Market and Everyday Market.
AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said shares have climbed the wall of worry, as Trump tries to build a New World Order.
'Fortunately, Trump backed down on the worst of his tariffs for now and the Middle East threat has fizzled leaving US, global and Australian shares just 0.7 per cent or less below record highs and on track for another financial year of strong returns helped by strong profit growth in the US and central bank rate cuts elsewhere, including in Australia.'
He also highlights the market is set to enter a traditionally strong period in the coming days.
'July is normally a strong month for shares and a break to record highs could be imminent,' Mr Oliver said.
However, volatility is likely to remain high as US and Australian shares are expensive and Trump's tariff threat will likely increase again. Mr Oliver said the 9th July tariff deadline was rapidly approaching and some countries likely to see hikes beyond 10 per cent tariffs.
In an announcement to the ASX, Woolworths estimates the cost of closing the online business will be between $90m and $100m, including payments for outstanding equity and staff redundancies.
PointsBet said they will be at the bottom of the range for previous guidance.
Earlier in the year the business projected revenues of between $260-270 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between $11- $14 million for the 2025 financial year.
Reece shares slumped 18.7 per cent to $14.12 after the plumbing and bathroom supplier told the market earnings will fall into the range of $548-$558m down from $681m last year.

Hashtags

Business

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Trump tariffs ‘as big an inflation threat as COVID-19'

Sydney Morning Herald

2 hours ago

Sydney Morning Herald

Trump tariffs ‘as big an inflation threat as COVID-19'

'Policymakers must act decisively on multiple fronts to ensure price stability and promote sustainable economic growth while preserving economic and financial stability,' he said. There are already signs overseas of the financial hit caused by Trump's tariff agenda. Canada's economy contracted in April as its close trade links to the US were disrupted while data released last week revealed American GDP fell by 0.5 per cent through the first three months of 2025. While the Australian economy grew through the March quarter, this pre-dated Trump's liberation day announcements. But there are signs a rise in American tariffs is already starting to affect local firms. A survey by MYOB to be released this week shows Trump's tariffs have been felt by 17 per cent of small and mid-sized businesses. About 41 per cent of those surveyed said they believed the tariffs would destabilise the global economy, with more than a third expecting the imposts to both lift business costs and inflation. While 45 per cent said they expected the economy to decline this year, 64 per cent said their financial position was either good or excellent. MYOB chief executive officer Paul Robson said the results highlighted the impact of events playing out on the other side of the globe. 'While global policy decisions may feel distant, Australian SMEs are alive to potential local impacts and are pivoting their way around them,' he said. 'The key consideration for impacted SMEs is the cumulative effect of both tariffs and interest rates on the cost of doing business. Supply chain disruption is another concern for this community, given the diverse industry portfolio this sector covers.' The turmoil in supply chains, driven in part by Trump's tariff agenda, has resulted in 17 per cent of surveyed businesses saying they plan to shift where they source their products or services. Just one in 10 expects an increase in customer demand. This impact is not showing up yet in the federal budget, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers forecast in March would show $940 billion in gross debt by the end of the current financial year before climbing to $1.02 billion by the end of 2025-26. Loading But total government debt will end 2024-25 at $928.6 billion due to a better budget bottom line. Chalmers had forecast a deficit $27.6 billion, but in the financial year to the end of May, the deficit was just $5.5 billion due to higher-than-expected company and personal income tax collections. On a pro rata basis, the government had expected the deficit to be at $20.2 billion by the end of May. The government believes the full-year deficit will increase to more than $10 billion as payments, held up in part by the May election, start to flow to states and taxpayers. Even at that level, Chalmers is on track to again fall short of his budget gross government debt forecast. But debt levels are ramping up much quicker among the nation's states and territories. Ratings' agency S&P Global estimates that the states and territories had gross debt of $266.3 billion in 2019 with that on track to reach $900 billion by 2029 – a 238 per cent increase. Over the same period, federal gross debt is forecast to grow by 126 per cent. Victoria is on track to have the highest debt of any state or territory at $274.1 billion, a 397 per cent increase. The largest jump in debt is expected to be endured by Tasmania, climbing by 627 per cent to $23.4 billion. NSW ($252.3 billion) and Queensland ($205.7 billion) will also have high debt levels.