By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was 9.70 points or 0.14% lower at 7,078.00 on Thursday, following gains of 1.17% yesterday as investor sentiment turned sour following following a sharp selloff of U.S. tech stocks in after-hours trading as Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) earnings came in below market expectations.
The Technology sector accelerated its decline, down 6% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) dropped 9.32%, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) lost 9.63%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) dropped 6.75%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) lost 6.26%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) fell 14.68% Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) lost 9.66%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) dropped 7.46%, Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) fell 2.32%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) dipped 5.04% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) shed 8.05%.
S&P/ASX 200 Financials also fell 0.14% as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) slumped 1.54% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lost 1.37% while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) gained 0.67%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) added 0.14% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) lifted 2.28%.
Materials ended 1.5% higher, as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) gained 2.43%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) added 3.09%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) gained 3.27%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) finished up 0.74%. However, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) lost 3.52%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) dropped 4.32%, Magnis Resources Ltd (ASX:MNS) fell 4.76% and Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ)lost 3.97%.
Meantime, Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX:SYD) finished 0.23% higher as shareholders voted to approve an A$23.6 billion cash takeover by infrastructure investors.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 1.86% while United States 10-Year yields were at 1.766%.
On the data front, Australia’s trade surplus shrank more than expected in December to $8.4 billion, posting the smallest trade surplus since March. Exports grew 1% to a four-month high, while imports increased at 5%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 finished 0.37% higher at 12,335.