By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 119.50 points or 1.57% to 7,473.30 during Friday’s deals, posting the biggest daily declines since February and retreating from near record highs as U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers indicated a more aggressive stance on rate increases.
Among stocks, Materials companies shed 3.1% collectively, as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) lost 2.4%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 4.4%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lost 1.2%, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) dipped 3.2% and Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) declined 1.9%.
Information Technology dropped 2.5% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) dropped 6.5%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) shed 9.7%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) fell 8% and Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) lost 1.4%.
Energy fell 2.5% as Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) lost 2.7%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) fell 2.6% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) lost 2.4%
Financials also finished 1.7% overall as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) dipped 1.6%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lost 0.8%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) fell 1.4%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipped 1.2% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lost 2.8%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at fresh 7-year highs of 3.129% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.918%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 0.4% to 11,908.