The local market’s three-day winning streak has come to an end, with the ASX 200 finishing 0.7% lower at 8,370 points.
The Materials sector was the worst performer, losing 1.6%, dragged down by the major iron ore miners. Fortescue (ASX:FMG) lost more than 2.4% to $18.58, while BHP (ASX:BHP) was down 1.9% at $39.05 and MinRes lost 3.5% to $35.30.
Also heavily in the red today were Consumer Discretionary stocks (-1.6%), including Wesfarmers (ASX:WES), Aristocrat Leisure and JB Hi-Fi.
NRMA has warned Aussies to “fill up now” ahead of the Australia day long weekend, with fuel prices tipped to soar to more than $2 per litre in the coming days.
A spokesperson for the insurer said, “If you didn’t fill up last week while prices were at the bottom of the cycle, now would be a good time to fill up, as prices are only going to rise and rise quickly.”
Despite pressure from some Coalition MPs to follow Donald Trump‘s lead in pulling out of the Paris Agreement, Peter Dutton has warned leaving the international climate change agreement would lead to local job losses and damage Australia’s trade relationships.
But the Opposition Leader said that, if he wins the election, the Coalition would not commit to a 2035 emissions-reduction target — a requirement of the Paris agreement.
ASX listing hit 20-year low
Australian sharemarket listings hit a 20-year low last year, with just 29 new listings.
While the ASX sees brighter days ahead in 2025, a change in sentiment may be months away.
It seems companies with public listing ambitions are waiting for Australia’s economic outlook to clear, interest rates to fall and the volatility brought about by election results to fade into the sunset.
“We are expecting 2025 to be a very busy year with the market becoming increasingly active as the year goes on,” the ASX’s group executive listings, Blair Beaton, told the Australian in an interview on Wednesday.
Beaton said the number of new companies entering the market last year increased when factoring in offshore companies conducting secondary listings on the ASX.
He noted “unprecedented level of activity” in the final months of 2024, driven by discussions with company representatives exploring ASX listings and attending ASX-hosted workshops.
“It is a really great indicator in respect to what activity we are going to see in 2025,” he said.
Cyprium up at first
Cyprium Metals Ltd was as much as 18.52% higher at $0.032 in early trading after news of a strategic alliance with Macmahon was announced before returning to the previous close of $0.027 while Prescient Therapeutics Ltd increased by 17.31% to a daily high of $0.061 on positive news about its OmniCAR program and Buru Energy Ltd reached $0.052, a rise of 15.56%.
Antipa Minerals Ltd was up to 12.9% higher at $0.035, Astral (JO:ARLJ) Resources NL rose by 10.35% to a daily high of $0.16, Orthocell Ltd continued recent gains, rising 8.64% to $1.635, International Graphite Ltd traded up 7.l4% to $0.06 on positive news, Sovereign Metals Ltd hit $0.765, an increase of 6.25%, Far East Gold Ltd moved 5.56% higher to $0.19 and Peninsula Energy Ltd reached $1.61, a move of 4.89% on the previous close.
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