Yahoo Finance ASX dives Wednesday as Victoria breaks Covid-19 record
Shares plummeted in Australia on Wednesday, as Covid-19 cases surged in Victoria and NSW.
The ASX200 index finished trading 1.32 per cent lower to rest at 6,075.10 points. The All Ordinaries didn’t fare much better, losing 1.22 per cent for the day to pause at 6,192.60.
Biotech company CSL lost 3.66 per cent and mining giant BHP was down 3.3 per cent when the trading day mercifully ended.
Victoria revealed 484 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, which is a single-day record for the nation. The most populous state, NSW, is on “high alert” to keep its hotspots under control.
What happened at lunchtime?
The Australian stock market has plunged Wednesday morning, despite the release of positive June retail figures.
The ASX200 index dropped 1.15 per cent at 12:33pm to hit 6,108.60 points, while the All Ordinaries was 0.75 per cent lower at the same time to reach 6,221.60.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that retail sales picked up by 2.4 per cent in June as the nation came out of lockdown – but before the second wave hit Victoria and NSW.
What happened this morning?
Australian shares dipped in early trade Wednesday, after the tech sector took a body blow in the US overnight.
The ASX200 index lost 0.77 per cent in the first 20 minutes of trade to hit 6,108.60 points, while the All Ordinaries was 0.75 per cent lower at the same time to reach 6,221.60.
Investors could be cashing in some gains after Tuesday trading finished at the highest level since before the coronavirus shook the market in late February.
Local investors on Wednesday will be watching June retail sales figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
What happened overnight?
Two of the three major US indices were up overnight, but tech shares caught a shiver late in the session to leave the NASDAQ 0.81 per cent in the red.
Tesla fell 4.54 per cent while Amazon lost 1.83 per cent.
A US$857 billion coronavirus recovery package in the European Union, and the prospect of similar stimulus in the US, sent the Dow Jones Industrial 0.6 per cent higher and the S&P500 up 0.17 per cent.
"A pick-up in demand is being seen throughout the economy as things have opened up," Chase Investment Counsel president Peter Tuz told AAP.
"We're at the cusp of continuing with the recovery or stagnation."
The mixed messages sent Australia's SPI200 futures dipping 1.06 per cent at 8am AEST Wednesday.
– with AAP
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