The ASX is likely to end the week on a low note, down 0.26% or 19.40 points to 7,338.00 as of 2:00 pm AEST today.
The bears and the bulls played tug of war this morning, raising the index as high as 7,360 points before the bears gained the upper hand even though the ASX had broken through its 20-day moving average.
At present, the Aussie bourse is dead flat for the week, although still down 3.02% from its 52-week high.
The Energy sector was the main culprit, dragged down -2.01% today, with most other sectors flat – the exceptions were Consumer Discretionary, up 0.57%, and Health care, with a 0.29% gain.
The energy sector’s woes were exacerbated by a falling crude oil price, with West Texas shedding a full -1.60% in trading today. Most of the base metals were flat or down as well – tin shed -1.52%, and zinc -1.07%.
Precious metals faired a little better; palladium gained 4.38% and platinum 2.13%.
What are the best and worst-performing sectors this week?
Looking back on the week, Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham offers insight on the best and worst-performing sectors.
“The best-performing sectors include Energy up over 2% followed by Communication services and Consumer Discretionary, as they are both up over 1%,” Gillham said of the last five trading days.
“The worst-performing sectors include Information Technology, down over 1%, followed by Healthcare and Consumer Staples, which are both just in the red for the week.
“The best-performing stocks in the ASX top 100 include James Hardie Industries, up over 14%, followed by Pilbara Minerals, up over 7%, while Lynas Rare Earths and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) are both up over 5%.
“The worst-performing stocks include Resmed, down over 11%, followed by Block, down over 10%, and Virgin Money (LON:VM), down over 5%.”
What's next for the Australian stock market?
“Currently, the Australian stock market is in positive territory for the week and looking good, although it is too early to tell if the current move up is sustainable,” Gillham explained.
“I say this because over the last 16 weeks, the All Ordinaries Index has closed lower than it opened on 9 of those weeks, yet the current price of the market is almost the same.
“The positive news is that since mid-July the Australian market is up over 4% and looking more bullish than bearish.
“If the Australian stock market closes higher than it opened this week and continues to rise into next week, I believe the market will rise over the coming month and possibly challenge the all-time high set back in January 2022.
“There are many stocks in the Healthcare and Energy sectors that are presenting good opportunities, while stocks in the Financials and Materials sectors are also looking good.
“For now, good luck and good trading.”
The Five at Five
The ASX Small Ords are up both for the day and week, gaining 0.40% or 11.3 points today and 0.58% over the last five days.
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