Iron ore futures decline: ASX closes 0.02% lower

By Peter Milios | More Articles by Peter Milios

The Australian share market ended the day near flat at 7194.9 points.

Although technology stocks performed well, the gains were not enough to offset the losses in mining, real estate, and utilities sectors.

Among the technology companies, WiseTech (ASX:WTC) saw a 2.2 per cent rally in shares, Xero (ASX:XRO) climbed 2.3 per cent, NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) added 1.6 per cent, and TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) rose 1.6 per cent.

However, iron ore producers experienced declines as iron ore futures traded lower, with BHP Group (ASX:BHP) shares falling by 1 per cent and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) dropping 1.2 per cent.

Futures

The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 6 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 0.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 12.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 1 point.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 1.81 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Utilities, down 1.28 per cent.

The best-performing large cap was REA Group (ASX:REA), closing 2.69 per cent higher at $141.27. It was followed by shares in Xero (ASX:XRO) and WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC).

The worst-performing large cap was Amcor (ASX:AMC), closing 2.19 per cent lower at $14.76. It was followed by shares in Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.13 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.31 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.27 per cent.

Company news

North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM) has upgraded its Wildwood Mineral Resource. Chief Executive Russell Krause said that the increase “reflects an increased attention and definition of the lithology model and mineralisation controls of the deposit.” Shares closed 2 per cent lower at 9.8 cents.

Next Science’s (ASX:NXS) unaudited product sales for Q2FY23 are expected to be above US$5.6m. This compares with reported product sales of US$4.4m in Q1 FY23. Shares closed 20.8 per cent higher at 58 cents.

archTIS (ASX:AR9, OTCQB:ARHLF) has been awarded a $4.06M contract with The Australian Department of Defence. MD Daniel Lai commented, “We believe that NC Protect can contribute to the way the department works on and secures information in a modern workplace environment.” Shares closed 27.5 per cent higher at 8.8 cents.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,913.10 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.22 lower at US$69.34 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.15 US cents.

About Peter Milios

Peter Milios is a recent graduate from the University of Technology - majoring in Finance and Accounting. Peter is currently working under equity research analyst Di Brookman for Corporate Connect Research.

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