Australian shares fell 0.8% at the open, influenced by upcoming US tech earnings and President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign. The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped by 62.5 points to 7909.1, with significant losses in materials and energy sectors. Alphabet and Tesla are expected to report their quarterly earnings later today, while US stock futures and the dollar showed minimal reaction to Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris. Commodity stocks also faced pressure as copper and iron ore prices fell and BHP shares declined further.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.83 per cent lower at 7,905.8.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 60 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Consumer Staples, up 0.37 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 2.04 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV), trading 1.71 per cent higher at $5.35. It is followed by shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) and Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE).
The worst-performing large cap is South32 (ASX:S32), trading 12.28 per cent lower at $3. It is followed by shares in EBOS Group (ASX:EBO) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,458.50 an ounce.
Iron ore is flat at US$105.30 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.7 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.73 US cents.