By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 dipped 54.2 points or 0.8% to 6995.6 by 10:50am AEST on Wednesday, declining for the 4th consecutive session and trading at 2-month lows, weighed down by losses by the technology and materials sectors.
ASX 200 Futures were trading 0.6% lower.
Among stocks, Materials were 1.5% lower overall, as BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) lost 1.2%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) dropped 1.1% and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) fell 4.4% while Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) dipped 0.5%.
Information Technology was down 2% collectively, with Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) down 1.3%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) falling 3.1%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) dipping 2.7%, Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX:LNK) down 13.3% and Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) losing 4.2%.
Financials moved 0.9% lower, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) up 1%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) down 0.2%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) falling 2.8%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipping 0.2% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) up 0.5%.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) added 3.3% after appointing David George as its new chief executive, taking over the chief executive role from Brett Cairns who abruptly resigned in December.
Graincorp Ltd (ASX:GNC) was down 3.1% despite the company reporting record earnings, with net profits after tax of $A246 million for its 2022 half-year period, 452% higher than its half-year profits in 2021 of $51 million, while tripling its interim dividend to 24 cents per share fully franked.
CSR Ltd (ASX:CSR) also jumped 1.9% after reporting a 20% increase in its full-year profit.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 3.49%, while United States 10-Year yields eased to 2.977%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.2% to 11,257.