By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 fell 159.10 points or 2.16% to 7,205.60 during Friday’s session, posting losses of 3.3% for the week, the largest decline in 16 months.
Among stocks, Information Technology plunged 4.5% overall, as Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) fell 5.2%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) lost 7.4%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) dipped 4.6%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) dropped 9.1% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) shed 5.6%.
Real estate companies fell 3.5% collectively, with Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) down 2.6%, Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) falling 4.1%, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) down 4.7% and Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX:SGP) dipping 3.9%.
Materials finished 2% lower as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) fell 2.1%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) lost 1.4%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) finished flat at $20.83, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) shed 6.5%, Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) dipped 7.1% and OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX:OZL) lost 4.7%.
In policy news, the Reserve Bank of Australia released its quarterly statement on monetary policy today, with policymakers raising their expectations for price increases while trimming some GDP growth forecasts.
Australia’s economic growth is now expected to slow to 3.5%, down from 4.2% for 2021 and lower than the 5% predicted in the February statement. The RBA also forecasts underlying inflation to peak in December at 4.6% and fall within the target range of 2-3% by the middle of next year.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields eased slightly from 8-year highs to 3.467% while United States 10-Year rates were near 4-year highs of 3.051%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 1.2% to 11,609.