The ASX made leisurely upward progress today, bouncing throughout the day as the bourse gained and then was sold off multiple times.
The bulls ended up on top, adding 0.17% or 13.00 points to the ASX200 to bring it to 7,725.50 points.
Biggest gains today were in Consumer Discretionary, up 1.07% on the back of a strong performance by Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) (+1.19%), JB Hi-Fi (1.39%) and Aristocrat Leisure (1.74%), and Real Estate, up 0.96%.
Financials also gained 0.71% – Magellan Financial Group was one of the better-performing stocks today, up 2.45% – but the other sectors were more subdued.
Energy (-0.30%), Materials (-0.72%) and Industrials (-0.48%) put a damper on the overall momentum of the market, which still managed a positive showing despite recent progress being characterised as a 'dead cat bounce'.
Commodities were mostly unchanged, with gains in palladium (+0.77) and losses in platinum (-1.5%) as well as some upward movement in aluminium (+0.89%) and lead (0.85%).
Why it’s not all doom and gloom
“While the Australian share market saw its biggest drop in a year on Monday, there’s no need to panic just yet,” says moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir.
“The ASX fell 1.8% on Monday following Friday’s reset in the US market, but it’s not all doom and gloom for our economy.
“Markets don’t go up in a straight line and the ASX will likely smooth out in the coming days.”
Amir urges investors not to get too spooked by profit-taking in the market, highlighting that a single bad day does not determine the course of a year on the bourse.
“Already, we’re seeing traders buy into drops like Monday so it’s unlikely one bad day will result in a bad year,” Amir said.
“Following these pullbacks now could be just the time for investors to buy in while the prices are low.
“It’s worth noting that interest rates will likely be cut later in the year, which is a strong indicator of growth down the line.
“It’s just as the Warren Buffet adage goes, be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.”
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