By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 lost 71.20 points or 0.98% to 7,217.30 during Friday’s trade, as market participants retreated following shock U.S. inflation numbers overnight, rising at the quickest pace in 40 years, causing global markets to decline while long term bond yields spiked.
Among stocks, Technology companies suffered the greatest losses, down 3.8% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) shed 6.68%, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) fell 7.17%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) lost 6.34%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) dipped 6.48%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) lost 4.55%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) fell 2.7%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) lost 5.43%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) shed 4.51% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) dipped 3.4%.
Financials finished 0.52% lower overall as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) lost 0.06%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lifted 0.4%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) gained 0.57%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) added 0.71% while Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) dipped 2.21%.
Materials bucked the trend, up 0.33% as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) added 2.86%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) gained 1.2%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) added 2.47% and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) gained 0.85%, while Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) dipped 4.17%, Arizona Lithium Ltd (ASX:AZL) lost 6.45%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) dipped 4.74% and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) lost 2.83%.
In policy news, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe reiterated today that an interest rate rise in 2022 is "plausible", noting that "A couple more (quarterly) CPI's would be good to see" before pulling the trigger.
Lowe also warned that raising the cash rate too early from its record low of 0.1% could jeopardize an expected decline in the unemployment rate below 4% in the coming year.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were near fresh 3-year highs of 2.2% while United States 10-Year yields were at 31-month highs of 2.035%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was down 1.93% to 12,174.