AU Morning Wrap: ASX Shares Drop; Energy Producers Rise

Moomoo News AU wrote a column · Mar 14 18:41

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• Dow ends over 100 points lower
• ASX shares drop; energy producers rise
• Stocks to watch: Iress, EML Payments, Pilbara

AU Morning Wrap: ASX Shares Drop; Energy Producers Rise

Wall Street Summary

On Thursday, US stocks experienced a decline as a result of the release of another inflation reading that was higher than expected. This data served as one of the final pieces of information that could potentially influence the Federal Reserve's decisions at its upcoming policy meeting.

The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ and $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ both saw a decrease of approximately 0.3%, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ fell closer to 0.4%. Additionally, shares of Nvidia and Tesla decreased by roughly 4%, continuing a previous downward trend.

AU Market Watch

At the start of trading, the Australian stock market is experiencing a decline as the drop in the country's four largest banks outweighs the increase in iron ore miners, which have rebounded from their three-month low earlier this week.

The financial sector is being affected by the big four banks, which were downgraded by investment firm $Macquarie Group Ltd(MQG.AU)$ overnight. The recent downgrades to the big four banks follow a surge in their stock prices to multi-year highs last week, which contributed to the stock market reaching a new record high on Friday.

Stocks to Watch

$IRESS Ltd(IRE.AU)$, a financial software company, has recently announced a deal worth $164 million to sell its UK mortgages business to Bain Technology, a private equity firm.

$EML Payments Ltd(EML.AU)$ has agreed to sell its Sentenial payments business for an enterprise value of $54.1 million.

$Pilbara Minerals Ltd(PLS.AU)$ has accepted a pre-auction offer for spodumene concentrate, which is a partly processed form of lithium. The buyer has agreed to pay the equivalent of $US1200 per tonne, resulting in positive news for the company.