The Gold Coast Bulletin

ASX falls for third day in a row

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AUSTRALIA’S share market has hit its lowest point in five weeks after US inflation figures sparked fears of a spike in interest rates.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.9 per cent, or 62.2 points to 6882.7, while the All Ordinaries tumbled 1 per cent, or 72.1 points to an index position of 7209.

Gold was holding a spot value of $US1820.5 an ounce, while the Australian dollar was buying 77.2 US cents.

Local stocks were quick to follow the sharp falls sustained on Wall Street, with the three major US indexes tumbling more than 2 per cent after the release of inflation data which pointed to a potential interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Dow pulled back 2 per cent, while the S&P 500 slumped 2.2 per cent and the Nasdaq closed 2.7 per cent lower.

Local tech stocks were whacked the hardest of any sector, with Afterpay tumbling 5.4 per cent to $84.50, while EML Payments dropped 1.7 per cent to $5.20.

Perenti Global was the worst performer of the day dropping 29.2 per cent to 69 cents a share, while Whitehaven Coal topped the market and increased 6.4 per cent to $1.26.

Cloud accounting software Xero slumped 13 per cent to $117.39, despite revealing a profit and earnings bounce back from the pandemic. GrainCorp jumped 5.2 per cent to $5.43 after lifting its full-year earnings and profit guidance.

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