By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 fell 54.1 points or 0.74% to 7,267. during Wednesday’s deals, extending losses of 1.9% in the previous session. Technology companies retreated, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight as investors weighed the prospects of an economic slowdown, ditching tech stocks ahead of first-quarter corporate results.
By 11:15am AEST (1:09am GMT) ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.7% higher.
Among stocks, Information Technology was the worst hit, shedding 2.8% overall. Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) dropped 7.1%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) fell 5.2% while Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) fell 3.2% and Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) lost 3.8%.
Financials dropped 1.3% collectively as Australian 10-Year yields eased to 3.05%. Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) fell 1.8%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lost 2%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) fell 1.4%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) lost 1.2%. Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) dipped 1.2% as chairman Catherine Livingstone announced her retirement from the board in August after the finalisation of its financials, to be replaced by Paul O’Malley.
Meantime, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:ZIP) dropped 6.1% and EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) shed 6.9% after plunging 38% in yesterday’s trade following a profit warning.
The Energy sector bucked the trend as Oil prices rose after news that Russia will halt gas flows to Poland, a significant escalation in the standoff between Moscow and Europe as the war in Ukraine continues. Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) added 1.3%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) gained 0.8% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) lifted 0.2%.
On the data front, investors will be keeping a close eye on upcoming CPI data.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 1.3% to 11,661.