The S&P/ASX200 is lower today, dropping 32.10 points or 0.40% to 7,981.30, and crossing below its 20-day moving average. The index has lost 1.37% for the last five days but sits 2.05% below its 52-week high.
Bottom-performing stocks in this index are Super Retail Group Limited and Steadfast Group Limited, down 7.57% and 6.14% respectively.
The only sectors making a positive dent were Real Estate, Info Tech and Utilities, up 0.79%, 0.42% and 0.19%.
The biggest falls were in Energy, down 0.96%, Consumer Discretionary, down 0.95%, and Healthcare and Financials, down 0.84% and 0.73% respectively.
But if we thought our consumer spending was lacklustre, our biggest trading partner was in ‘hold my beer’ mode.
China's economic woes
"China’s CPI data rose 0.6% year-over-year, lifting from last month but still showing that the region is not doing enough to get households to spend,” said eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert.
“The struggles in China’s economy continue and its annual growth target of 5% will undoubtedly come under pressure. It’s clear that policymakers haven’t done enough.
“Efforts so far have been token gestures but we need to see more active fiscal measures for China’s economy to get going again. This number today will likely lift expectations of a rate cut in September.
“Consumers aren’t spending, wages are falling and corporate profits will come under pressure. Another sign that the economy continues to limp along is that iron ore prices have fallen under $90 a ton today, reflecting the sheer lack of demand from the region.
“Even contrarian investors are finding it hard to build a case for investing in China right now. Until more active measures are stepped up, investors will stay clear even despite its very low valuations, with more attractive opportunities elsewhere, especially with the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle set to get underway."
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