By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 was 51 points or 0.70% to 7,227.50 lower on Tuesday, easing from yesterday’s gains of 1.3% and tracking a technology selloff in the United States as rising long term bond yields continued to sap risk appetite, while a 6-hour outage at Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) sent the stock plunging 4.9%.
In coronavirus news, New South Wales added 608 new cases today, with 88.5% receiving their first dose of the vaccine, while 67.5% are fully vaccinated. Victoria tallied a record high 1763 cases, as the state claimed the title for longest time spent in lockdown, with the construction industry returning to work after a two week shutdown. Meantime, Queensland recorded 2 local cases but avoided a lockdown.
Among stocks, technology names were the biggest losers, with Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) leading the declines, down 5.1%, while Appen Ltd (ASX:APX)fell 4.13% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) fell 3.08%. Meantime, oil stocks lifted as Crude Oil WTI hit 7-year highs, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) adding 2.78, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) up 3.25%, Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) gaining 3.57% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) lifting 2.95%.
Later in the session, market participants will be focused on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision and statement, with expectations that policymakers hold the current rate of weekly asset purchases at A$4bln, amid optmism of a gradual economic reopening.