14.11.202500:41:37UTC+00Aussie Stocks Slump on Broad Sector Sell-Off

The S&P/ASX 200 experienced a significant downturn of 1.5% on Friday morning, dropping to approximately 8,625, marking the sharpest decrease since early September and touching a four-month low. This decline is attributed to diminished hopes for interest rate cuts, leading to widespread market retreats. The index is also showing a weekly decrease of about 1.7%, poised for a third consecutive week of losses. This trend is largely due to weaknesses within the banking sector following results from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Thursday’s robust employment report. The job data has heightened expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will maintain its current interest rates for an extended period, further dampening hopes for a rate cut in 2025. This comes after earlier inflation increases prompted economists to postpone their easing predictions. Key declines were observed in the mining sector, which dropped by 2.7%, influenced by lower copper prices affecting major players like BHP and Rio Tinto, both declining around 2%. Financials also saw a reduction, decreasing as much as 1.9% to their lowest level since mid-August. Additionally, gold stocks fell by 4%, and technology shares continued their downturn, falling 4% to their lowest point since late April, in line with a tech-focused sell-off on Wall Street.