On Friday, the Australian stock market opened with a sharp decline, led by the mining sector as base metal prices plummeted following a strengthening of the US dollar. By midday, the mining sector index had plunged nearly 2% due to the falling prices of metals, particularly gold, copper, and tin. Among the three major iron ore stocks, BHP dropped 1.9% by midday, Fortescue Metals (FMG) fell by 2.1%, and Rio Tinto decreased by 1.8%. This was largely due to gold prices significantly retreating from Wednesday’s historic highs. In the local major gold mining stocks, Northern Star (NST) was down 2.0% by midday, and Evolution Mining (EVN) fell by 3.8%.
The four major banks also traded lower by midday. ANZ dropped sharply by 2.1%, while Westpac (WBC) and National Australia Bank (NAB) both declined by 1.5%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was down 1.2%. Real estate stocks faced heavy selling pressure as well, with the sector index down 1.3% by midday. Industrial and logistics property giant Goodman Group (GMG) fell by 0.8%, property developer Dexus (DXS) plunged by 2.4%, and office property group Charter Hall Group (CHC) dropped by 2.1%.
Technical Analysis:
After reaching new historical highs over the past two weeks, the Australian stock index has retraced over 60% of its gains. The current price has returned to mid-May highs, having stayed above the 8000-point mark for just five trading days before declining back to 7900 points. Close attention should be paid to the support levels at 7900 and 7890.
Key Levels:
Resistance: First level at 7930, second level at 7950, third level at 7980.
Support: First level at 7900, second level at 7890, third level at 7850.
On Friday, the Australian stock market opened with a sharp decline, led by the mining sector as base metal prices plummeted following a strengthening of the US dollar. By midday, the mining sector index had plunged nearly 2% due to the falling prices of metals, particularly gold, copper, and tin. Among the three major iron ore stocks, BHP dropped 1.9% by midday, Fortescue Metals (FMG) fell by 2.1%, and Rio Tinto decreased by 1.8%. This was largely due to gold prices significantly retreating from Wednesday’s historic highs. In the local major gold mining stocks, Northern Star (NST) was down 2.0% by midday, and Evolution Mining (EVN) fell by 3.8%.
The four major banks also traded lower by midday. ANZ dropped sharply by 2.1%, while Westpac (WBC) and National Australia Bank (NAB) both declined by 1.5%. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was down 1.2%. Real estate stocks faced heavy selling pressure as well, with the sector index down 1.3% by midday. Industrial and logistics property giant Goodman Group (GMG) fell by 0.8%, property developer Dexus (DXS) plunged by 2.4%, and office property group Charter Hall Group (CHC) dropped by 2.1%.
Technical Analysis:
After reaching new historical highs over the past two weeks, the Australian stock index has retraced over 60% of its gains. The current price has returned to mid-May highs, having stayed above the 8000-point mark for just five trading days before declining back to 7900 points. Close attention should be paid to the support levels at 7900 and 7890.
Key Levels:
Resistance: First level at 7930, second level at 7950, third level at 7980.
Support: First level at 7900, second level at 7890, third level at 7850.