By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 fell 37.80 points or 0.50% to 7,490.10 during Wednesday’s trade, retreating from 3-month highs touched in the previous session as investors retreated on the prospects of accelerating interest rate hikes following increasingly hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
Among stocks, Technology was worst hit as rising bond yields sapped risk appetite. Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) fell 6.9%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) lost 2.7%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) fell 3%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) lost 6.8% and Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) retreated 2.6%.
Materials lost 1.5% as iron ore prices eased. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) lost 1.2%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 1%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) dipped 0.3%, Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) dropped 6.1%, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) lost 6% and Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) dipped 6.5%.
Financials bucked the trend, gaining 0.7% overall as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) added 1.2%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) gained 1.2%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) lifted 0.8% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) gained 1.3%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates surged to their highest levels since March 2017 today at 2.941% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.607%, the highest since April 2019.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was down 0.4% to 12,079.